


Broken

by Nana_san



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2019-10-14 16:32:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 77
Words: 93,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17512073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nana_san/pseuds/Nana_san
Summary: Everybody has them, they are just a mark that, maybe, shows up on your body. It's as common as a belly button.But, for Jihyo, it should have meant something more. It did, but not how she hoped, and she found herself learning how to face it from someone much more broken than herself.





	1. UNO!

Jihyo was born with two buds on her back, a purple Iris and a yellow Crocus, not unheard of, but uncommon. They were right behind her heart, easy to conceal, had she wanted to, and she did. Her parents were very happy for their little girl, she would have not one, but two destined ones in her life, their plans, however, were too hopeful and too naive to really come to fruition.

Nowadays, most of the population did, but there were still a good chunk of the population that weren’t born with the soulmate mark, Jihyo had even heard of a sheik from Dubai born with six buds. The most common occurrence was to be born with one bud, a flower that would represent your destined one, an almost perfect representation, some would say. The bud would tell you about your soulmate, bloom at the first touch, and wither when your soulmate passed.

Some people would live their lives with just a bud, others would be lucky enough to see it bloom with their special ones, those less fortunate, would witness the bud wither with a sharp pain in their hearts. Having the flower bloom didn’t mean much, as there were too many cases where people would have theirs bloom in a crowd and never find the one to make them feel the connection again, so the mark became, if anything, just another thing one was born with, like a belly button.

Jihyo, however, was one to believe her buds should represent something, that soulmates should have some sort of connection with each other, then again, her heart has always been too big and her, too selfless for this world. That’s how Mina, one of the most introverted people Jihyo had ever seen approached her first, that is, until Mina gets to know you and never shuts up again.

Their friendship began one day, when Mina was slightly late for gym class, because she got caught up looking at some blue butterflies. The girl used all her ninja skills (she didn’t have any) and entered the lockers to change without being noticed, only to find another girl, slightly shorter, tanned skin and silky black hair about to put on her shirt. The girl had her back facing Mina, who could see two buds, heart-shaped, around where the girl’s heart should be. And before being able to stop herself, Mina had blurted out

“You have two too!”

Jihyo froze, she was absorbed in her own thoughts, scolding herself for stopping to help that one student that didn’t really need it but appreciated anyways. She thought she would be alone and never went to the stalls to change as usual. Turning, she saw twinkling eyes and a gummy smile where the upper lip disappeared, Mina was known to be classy and unreachable, but all Jihyo could see was a excited puppy wagging it’s tail. Jihyo found the girl adorable.

“I have what, now?”

“Two buds! I have two as well! Look!” Mina blurts in rapid fire as she drops her pants.

Jihyo was embarrassed, until she noticed the girl was wearing rather tight pants and intended to show her shins. ‘Weird’ was the thought on ~Jihyo’s mind, but found it adorable that the girl was so happily showing her two very big buds that were spiraled along her left shin, a white Lily and a white Carnation, they would bloom to be enormous and take the girl’s leg almost entirely, if they ever came to. Jihyo could only smile fondly.

Whilst Mina had been weird from the start, Nayeon proved that being weird could be brought to a whole new level. She had been Jihyo’s, sort of, neighbour for about three years now, and had always been observing the lonely girl. That is, until Mina had performed the locker room scene and decided she would walk home with Jihyo from then on (Mina lived two streets down). 

Yes, Nayeon! She had always found Jihyo very interesting, a lovely girl, who would always get out of her way to help people, even if no help was really needed, a girl who would always be left alone for whatever reason, and Nayeon had heard enough rumors (honestly, she was the gossip queen) to know Jihyo was just being left out because the other kids found it too easy. She found herself developing an unexplainable fondness towards the other, and her blood boiled when she saw said girl walking home with THE Myoui Mina, the school’s (supposed) ice princess… And they were laughing! That was it for Nayeon.

“What the hell? How could you betray me like this?” Nayeon screams as she runs in front of the duo and stops them.

“I… Uhh… yes?” Jihyo tries, while Mina is just dumbfounded.

“You were supposed to be MY baby, to love and care and squeeze!” Nayeon continues.

“I’m sorry? I’m not sure we met before, though. You live on my street, right?! I’ve seen you now and then.” Jihyo tries to manage her best polite tone.

“What?! Oh! Right! I should introduce myself first. Im Nayeon, I live two houses down from yours.”

“Park Jihyo, and this is-”

“Myoui Mina, I know. But how did you two become friends overnight? I was planning to introduce myself and become your friend first.” Nayeon demanded, or tried to.

Jihyo is still trying to grasp the situation, but Mina bursts out laughing, so she can’t help but join. Nayeon seems to be confused about something, but they are both sure she will let them know soon.

“Wait a second, THE Myoui Mina laughing? And you are laughing with her? Don’t you see this is weird?” See?!

“Nayeon, calm down please. I laugh, I’m just like anyone else.” Mina says, eyes filled with mirth.

“No you are not. You are Myoui Mina, the elegant ice princess of our school.” The girl sounds frustrated, and that just makes Mina laugh some more.

“Nayeon, She is much more weird than you think she is. Also, this kid can’t shut her mouth for the life of her.” Jihyo negotiates, and Nayeon is looking more and more confused about everything.

“Naye- Should we call you unnie? Are you an unnie? Does it matter to you?” Mina goes back to running her mouth.

“Wait, hold up. You are telling me that THE Myoui Mina is just a shy dork?” Jihyo nods with a mocking grin, and Mina feigns offense. “This has GOT to be the most confusing and frustrating day of my life.”

“Well, you can start by walking with us, how about that? Mina lives just a couple of blocks away.” Jihyo invites and Nayeon just follows, still trying to piece together all the information she just received. This day was getting weirder and weirder for her.


	2. 2

Turns out, Nayeon was adamant into always being as weird or, whenever possible, weirder than Mina, something about asserting dominance, and that the two were her bestfriends now, and vice-versa. She didn’t accept any objections, and the girls learned, early on, that it was best to just agree, if they didn’t want the eldest to just go on and do something stupid just out of spite.

Mina, on the other hand, was just socially inept, to put it lightly. She would think too much and then do something totally unreasonable because she focused too much on her objective and forgot the proper process of getting there, cue taking your pants off in front of a stranger to show something she could just pull up the pant’s leg for. Jihyo found it endearing, seeing the girl fumble her way through things and trying to avoid much social interaction, simply because she was thinking about what to do. Nayeon would swear she found it annoying, but the other two never believed her.

Jihyo was supposed to be the level headed one, but she was too much of a hopeless romantic and too kind for her own good. She usually found herself being pulled out of trouble, or being barred from giving too much to anyone by her two best friends. She was an innocent and optimistic soul, the one who would give all of herself to assure the ones she loved would never need to be missing a single part, Nayeon and Mina would constantly worry over that, the younger one being much more vocal about her concerns, while Nayeon would be more of a doer.

It was sometime into their second year in middle school when a untimely transferee freshman came by and their little trio became a quartet. Tzuyu was a mysterious beauty, much like everyone believed Mina to be. Two people were very dubious about the newcomer, though, they saw how the young one’s eyes filled with mischief from time to time, and a playful smirk would, discreetly, try not to spread on her lips. Nayeon, as expected, was the one to approach the girl first.

“Hello there! I’m Nayeon, and you are my friend, so you sit with me!” She proclaimed during lunch period, seeing the girl was looking a little lost.

“Nayeonnie, will you stop with the screaming that people are your friends all of a sudden?” Jihyo protested, then turned to the tall girl with a kind smile. “I’m Park Jihyo, this is Myoui Mina, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Chou Tzuyu, thanks for the invite.” The girl answered a little awkwardly and proceeded to shake the others hands.

Nayeon, who was behind the newcomer, let out a loud gasp when she shook Mina’s hand. The other three were more than confused when they saw her eyes were filled with tears and she had a disturbingly fond smile. Jihyo and Mina got the chills immediately, while Tzuyu was trying to get the girl to calm herself and sit down, other students were looking at them funny.

“Okay, will you tell us why you are like that, now? It’s creeping us out.” Mina said, still very disturbed.

“Tzuyu is your soulmate, Minguin!” Nayeon manages to let out on a whisper.

“What?” The three synchronized.

“Tzuyu’s flower just bloomed when she shook your hand. You must have felt something.” Nayeon said in a small protest.

“Well, it did feel different, and I did feel some unexplainable warmth. But I guessed it was just Tzuyu’s charm.” Mina explained too naturally.

“Okay, and how do you happen to see my flower blooming?” Tzuyu decided to ask something else and not question Mina’s answer.

“You do realise you are wearing short sleeves, and your buds are in plain sight.” Nayeon explained, gesturing to the girl’s outfit.

“Oh, right. I forgot they are there. But did it really bloom?”

“Turn around and lift your sleeve, I’ll take a photo and show you.” Nayeon offered.

“Can we see it too?” Jihyo asked, truly curious.

Tzuyu just nodded and proceeded to let Nayeon take a picture of her, now, flower. Then just turned around to let the other girls see it, while she was looking at the photo herself. A wide smile spread through everyone’s lips, Nayeon and Jihyo were just happy to witness a meeting between soulmates so early in their lives, Mina and Tzuyu overjoyed to have met each other. From then on, Nayeon had another best friend, so did Jihyo, and Mina had a soulmate to make fall in love with her.

“What flower is that, though?” Nayeon asked after contemplating a little.

“Ambrosia. Orange Ambrosia.” Mina answered with the most lovable glint in her eyes.

“And how do you happen to know that?” Nayeon insisted.

“I don’t know. I just know it is, somewhere in my mind, the information is there.” Mina gives a uncommitted shrug.

“And that’s the bell. You can question them latter, Nayeonnie.” Jihyo says, getting up and being followed by the other two. She did have to drag Nayeon, though.

+++

The four became a rather tight knit group, although they did have their rough patches, they got to know each other and developed this deep connection among themselves. That’s why, when Chaeyoung came along, dragging Momo with her, about two years later, they had to adjust and accept that some things would just be a ‘them’ thing, but that never meant the two were being set aside at all.

It happened in the morning of the first day of Mina, Nayeon and Jihyo’s senior year, not that it would change much, seeing the high school division was just across the street, and they would never leave Tzuyu alone (Chaeyoung would be there now, but still). The older trio was heading to orientation, when they heard rushed scolding and the screech of sneakers against the hallway floor. There were still a good twenty minutes to go, so they didn’t understand the rush.

It was when they reached a corner that something fairly small came crashing against Nayeon, who happened to be the one in the way. They all heard someone heaving some sort of apology, that’s what it sounded like, anyways. And Mina was just laughing at Nayeon’s face, while Jihyo tried to calm everyone down.

“What the heck?!” Nayeon exclaimed hater annoyed, her bottom hurt.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. We were late, and Momo was almost sleep walking, and then we still have to get our thing to our classrooms, an-” The small girl on top of Nayeon started blabbering.

“Calm down, let me help you up, here.” Mina managed, as she found the girl adorably flustered.

“Oh, come on!” Nayeon nearly shouted, honestly annoyed this time.

“Come on, up with you. What’s wrong this time, Nayeonnie?” Jihyo said in a huff, getting the girl to her feet.

“Mina is blooming again.” Nayeon points to the other flower blooming on Mina’s shin. Said girl was wearing a skirt and short socks for the day.

“She is what, now?! Wait, the kid is blooming too.” Jihyo points out to the, then, flower under the shorter girl’s right ear.

“The kid is Son Chaeyoung, nice to meet you.” Chaeyoung mumbles in a very annoyed huff.

“She is right, though, Chae. Hi, I’m Momo, Hirai Momo.” The girl who was being dragged by Chaeyoung introduces herself, as she seems to have regained her breath.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Park Jihyo. Forgive our rude introduction.” Jihyo says, while she extends her hands for Momo to hake, and proceeds o do the same for Chaeyoung.

“Im Nayeon. Sorry, I got annoyed.” Nayeon says as she holds Momo’s hand to be hoisted up.

“You do know you are just blooming as well, right?! Oh, I’m Myoui Mina.” Mina says too amused for Nayeon’s taste.

“I’m what, now?” Nayeon asks, as Mina points at the older’s arm, the vines unraveling themselves down her left arm.

“Well, lucky me, then. I’ve been looking for you.” Momo tries to be flirty… Key word being try.

“Oh! Yeah, are you okay, Ji?” Nayeon asks truly concerned. She knows Jihyo is someone to take these things seriously.

“I’m great, but we should really call Tzu over, she should meet Chaeyoung as well, no?” Jihyo says, honesty very present in her tone, so her two companions relax a bit.

Tzuyu was already waiting for them at the auditorium, so, once they knew that, the other three just dragged Momo and Chaeyoung with them. Sure enough, Tzuyu’s other flower bloomed as soon as she shook Chaeyoung’s hand. And Mina could not be happier, she had another one to win over, and would get to share her journey with Tzuyu this time.

Nayeon was just amazed that her Ivy vines looked really beautiful, and Momo’s yellow Dandelion, that was peeking out at her right collarbone, didn’t seem to be that bad either. Chaeyoung, the artistic whore she was, got mesmerized at how the orange Ambrosia and white Carnation completed themselves so beautifully on her neck, while Tzuyu and Mina were giddy for, finally, having their white Lilies bloom so beautifully.

Things began pretty well, it was really a good start, but Jihyo couldn’t help the feeling of intruding. She felt like a stranger to the people who knew her so well, like she was sharing a world that was not hers, so, naturally, she began filling her time with excuses to not spend time with the others. She got a part time job, decided to take more singing lessons and volunteered to work with the student council. 

Nobody noticed at the beginning, Mina and Tzuyu were busy trying to woo Chaeyoung, Nayeon was happy that Momo wasn’t rejecting her, so what was there to notice, really. Four months into the new school year was when Tzuyu, the one fondest towards Jihyo, raised the question during lunch.

“Have any of you been with Jihyo lately?”

“She was in class today, why?” Nayeon brought up, not so interested.

“No, I mean really been with her. I haven’t really seen her for months already.” Tzuyu insisted.

“Now that you mention it. We haven’t talked outside classes since the second week of the semester.” Mina remarks.

Nayeon untangles herself from Momo and gets into deep thought. Chaeyoung and Momo felt a bit of jealousy rising, for their partners were worrying for someone else and not paying attention to them. But they, too, were intrigued by the disappearance.

“You two don’t know, but I think it’s time you did.” Mina starts. “You see, Jihyo is a good soul, too good sometimes. She would rather give all of herself for anyone to not hurt them. We worry about her, because she does still takes this ‘destined one’ thing very seriously.”

Momo and Chaeyoung just nodded, signaling they were listening.

“So, the thing about her is, she might be this ball of sunshine and rainbows, but truly she never really had friends before us.” Nayeon continues, in a very serious tone. “So, if she is away from us, it’s very likely that she is just isolating herself again.”

“And that means, she is, probably, working herself too hard to forget that she doesn’t feel like she fits in anymore.” Tzuyu finishes, rubbing her temples.

“So, you are telling us that she is just isolating herself because she thinks we don’t want her around?” Momo asks with a very incredulous expression.

“And that she just thought it was better to fill her time with whatever else instead of talking to us?” Chaeyoung jumps in, just as unbelieving as the former.

“Yup. She is like that. She prefers to isolate herself and not force her presence to others than just come up and say something about it. That’s the problem, we were focused on the two of you and never noticed her slipping away.” Nayeon sound really exasperated.

“Okay, now I need to find that dwarf and knock some sense into her…. Maybe just knock her head.” Tzuyu decides.

“Hey! She is taller than me, what am I, then?!” Chaeyoung interjects, before being shushed by Mina.

“Okay, so I’m going to her house tonight. Chae, Mo, please control that jealousy of yours, but I think the three of us should go and see her.” Mina declares.

“We are not jealous.” Momo tries to defend herself, but her blush isn’t helping.

“It’s okay to be, but you two should also understand she is our friend. We will go and reach out to her, and we will not spend the entire time with you.” Nayeon ponders.

“Fine, I was jealous, but I know you four have this thing, and I’m trying to not let it get to me, alright?!” Chaeyoung blurts out.

“Good girl. But you two should try spending some time with her as well. She might surprise you.” Mina concludes, patting Chaeyoung’s head and getting indignant mumbles in response.


	3. 3

That night, Mina waited impatiently for Nayeon and Tzuyu to arrive, she had been in front of the Park’s house for almost ten minutes, now, and she was the one who lived the furthest. Tzuyu happened to live exactly halfway from the girl’s street to Mina’s, which made the latter very annoyed with either not having shown up, still.

Not much later Tzuyu arrived to a earful from Mina, she managed to appease the girl right when Nayeon joined them. Knocking at the door, they were greeted by mrs Park, who told them they should come by more often, and to bring their girlfriends as well, before being ushered to Jihyo’s room. They found their friend bent over too many books and notebooks to be studying only the subjects they had at school.

“You are going to get yourself sick again.” Nayeon said, stepping into the room first.

Jihyo whipped her head to the door, not having noticed she had company. The other three, though, noticed some changes to her they didn’t like at all. Jihyo had lost some weight, her eyes were sunken and had very dark circles, her thick glasses weren’t doing much to hide it, she was much paler as well, and her eyes didn’t shine as much. She gave them a smile, but it never reached her eyes, it didn’t sit well.

“Hey girls, I didn’t hear you come in. Did something happen?” Jihyo asked is the best cheery tone she could muster.

“Yeah, you are being a dumbass.” Tzuyu had lost her patience at the sight.

“I a- What?” Jihyo was legitimately confused.

“You are being a dumbass. Did I stutter?” Tzuyu repeated herself, walking to the table and plopping down beside Jihyo.

“You really need to work on that aggression, Yu.” Mina gave the girl a fond smile and sat herself across from Jihyo, Nayeon took the girl’s other side.

“And how is it that I’m a dumbass?” Jihyo asked, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes.

“You are draining yourself again. And why have you been avoiding us?” Nayeon asked, bringing the girl into her embrace.

“I’m not, though?” Jihyo tried to argue, earning a pinch to her cheek from an annoyed Tzuyu.

“Jihyo, you know that we would never cut you off, right?!” Mina tries.

“And why are you telling me that? What is going on here?” Jihyo sounds truly confused.

“Because you disappeared when we got girlfriends, and now you are exhausting yourself, trying to have a reason not to have to spend time with us.” Mina continues.

“And you think we are having any of it. We are not, by the way.” Tzuyu huffs, still very annoyed.

“I got busy? You guys do know I got a job and started helping the student council, right?” Jihyo reasons.

“We know you started doing those after Momo and Chaeyoung came by.” Nayeon says, pulling the girl back into her embrace.

“That’s just coincidence. I was planning to do that anyways.”

“And why didn’t we hear about it?” Tzuyu questions.

“Same reason you only showed up here after four months I’ve been doing it.” Jihyo says, resignated.

The others seem to have run out of arguments, as they are all avoiding eye contact and looking very ashamed about themselves. Jihyo knew that would be the final blow to them, but she really didn’t want to be around them, she felt like a spectator to some very personal secret nobody was supposed to see. Jihyo felt like she didn’t deserve to be there, and she didn’t really want to be the odd one out as well.

“That’s a low blow, and you know it.” Nayeon lets out in a wet chuckle.

“Is it, though? Four months, Nayeon. Who was it that noticed? I’m guessing it was Tzu.” Jihyo said, a bitterness colouring her voice.

“That’s unfa-” Nayeon begins.

“It’s not.” Tzuyu cuts her. “She IS right, you know?! We did take four months to notice she wasn’t even there. And now we are here, asking for her to come back and watch from the sidelines again. We are the unfair ones.”

“I knew you would be the first one to understand, Yucchan.” Jihyo says, scooting closer to Tzuyu and hugging the girl.

“Doesn’t mean I want to accept it. I like you too much, we like you too much to just leave you alone like this. And you don’t look so hot yourself.” Tzuyu still sounds annoyed, this time, more with herself.

“I’m fine, though? You guys just haven’t seen me in a while.” 

“Ji, you lost a lot of weight.” Mina points out.

“I HAVE been working out. Naturally I would lose some weight. My vocal professor told me to strengthen my chest muscles and abs too, something about having better breath control.” Jihyo sounds almost amused. 

“You look much paler and those dark circles under your eyes have never been that bad. Your eyes look sunken too.” Nayeon points out.

“I have been indoors more than before. Less sunlight means no tan.”

“You have an answer for everything we might say, don’t you?” Tzuyu asks, squinting her eyes.

“Yes I do. Now, could you guys just say what you have to say? I still have a lot of work to do.”

“Fine, you disappeared, we took too long to notice, and now we are sorry. Could you, please hang out with us again? We don’t like not having you around.” Mina says with finality.

“I can try, but I’ll only be able to show up now and then. And before you get too happy, that will only happen if I feel Momo and Chaeyoung are okay with everything. Any discomfort and I’m getting back to my routine.” Jihyo doesn’t leave any room for arguing.

They talk a bit more, and the girls leave not much later, each one giving Jihyo a big hug and demanding she fulfills her promise to show up for lunch the next day. Tzuyu, being the most affectionate one also covers her with kisses before leaving, hand in hand with Mina, who has a very fond and lovable smile. Nayeon has a bounce on her step, on her way downstairs, the three feeling lighter than when they came.


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me comments and tell me how you like the story. It helps to know where to take it.

True to her words, Jihyo went out to have lunch with the girls, she had always made good in her promises, didn’t intend on start breaking them. She made her way out of her classroom, she didn’t share this class with any of them, with her packed lunch and headed to the cafeteria, she didn’t buy lunch at school anymore, locking herself at the student council office never left enough time to head to the cafeteria.

Finding the table, a very eager Nayeon began waving at her with a smile ripping her face in half. Momo seemed taken aback at first, but softened when she took a look at the girl’s face, the beat up appearance squeezed her heart a little and she couldn’t help but feel compassion to the other one. Chaeyoung seemed to have felt the same, as the young one took in Jihyo’s features, she couldn’t find it in herself to feel anything but worry towards her.

“Hey.” Jihyo says a bit shyly.

“Hey, yourself. Have a seat.” Mina answers, scooting away from Tzuyu (the other doing the same) and making Jihyo sit down between them.

“I don’t think we were introduced properly, I’m Park Jihyo.” Jihyo says looking from Momo to Chaeyoung and back.

“We remember. But we haven’t seen you around lately.” Chaeyoung tries to lighten up the mood a little.

“I’ve been a bit busy, student council, work and school work. The usual.” Jihyo lets out in a chuckle and starts digging into her lunch bag.

They eat with light conversations, Momo and Chaeyoung start to see where the endearment their girlfriends have for Jihyo comes from, and the pang of jealousy they had whenever the girl was regarded had already been put away. But Jihyo’s appearance was still bothering everyone, she looked sickly, exhausted and not at all the bright presence she once was.

Jihyo bids her goodbyes about ten minutes before lunchtime is over, heading back to the office and leaving a bitter taste on everyone’s mouth. Chaeyoung had teary eyes as soon as Jihyo turned around, and Momo had lost her appetite. Although, the girls were happy Jihyo showed up, but not at all happy with how she showed up.

“Chae, you can just cry if you want.” Mina says, enveloping the little one in a loving hug.

“And you eat more than this, Mo.” Nayeon adds, trying to get her girl to eat more, since she wasn’t even half done.

“Why didn’t you tell us she was like that? That is not the girl we met on the first day of classes.” Chaeyoung manages between wet sobs.

“We didn’t know until we went to her house last night.” Tzuyu responds, just as dejected.

“You guys did say she was one to give it all for everyone to be whole. But this is just-” Momo says and cuts herself, burying her face in the crook of Nayeon’s neck.

They spent the rest of recess just moving their food around, and just went on with their day the best they could. But Jihyo slipped their minds as lessons went on, the girl never showed up again, as well, so they just went back to their routine. It was a few weeks later, a friday, when Nayeon brought it up again, asking if any of them had seen Jihyo anywhere at all.

“Yeah, I had some papers to deliver at the council yesterday, she was there. She had a lot of paperwork too, but she did stop to talk a little. It was nice.” Chaeyoung said.

“But she did disappear again, didn’t she?” Momo asked, dropping her lunch.

“That she did. I think we should do another home invasion.” Nayeon wondered.

“Home invasion?” Chae was truly confused.

“Yeah, we go to her house for a sleepover, whether she wants us to or not. And we stay there until she talks it out.” Mina explains.

“And that works?” Momo chips in.

“It used to. I’m not sure this time.” Nayeon sounds dejected.

“Do we have something to do with it? I mean, she did vanish after we came along.” Chaeyoung ponders.

“No, yo-”

“Yes, you might have. She probably thinks we don’t need, nor want her around anymore.” Tzuyu cuts Nayeon off.

“I can’t say it didn’t cross my mind, when I first heard you all talking about her. But now I must say I’m ashamed to even have thought it.” Chaeyoung admits.

“It’s okay. It’s normal to feel jealous. But we did just leave her out.” Mina says in a huff.

“Then I would say, you guys should go and talk to her. She truly looks awful, something about that doesn’t sit well with me.” Momo points out.

“We should, but will you two be alright with that?” Nayeon asks, worried.

“We will. That girl needs someone right now, and that might just be you guys.” Chaeyoung waves them off.

“We will go to her house tonight, then. Let’s meet in front of her house at eight. You two could come as well.” Mina decides.

“No, that’s not a very good idea right now. We are the ones who made her think she should go away, you guys are the ones who need to bring her back. Momo and I will try to talk to her more, though. Maybe we can get closer in time.” Chaeyoung closes the subject and they all proceeded with the rest of their activities, all a bit giddy with the night to come.


	5. 5

Jihyo was always told she should give, give her younger sisters the care she almost never had, give her parents time for themselves and take the responsibilities at their household, give her things to others who wanted them, give her seat at the classroom to the other kids and sit at the back, under the sun and not seeing the board very well. She gave and gave, and it never seemed to be enough.

When she got to meet Mina, she was happy that someone decided to give her something, for once. Even if it was just a little company going to and from school. Then Nayeon came along and the girl became ecstatic, she had two people give her something, a little bit of attention, and some company every now and then. Tzuyu showed up, and Jihyo understood Mina couldn’t give her as much company anymore. Tzuyu was a great kid, she would give Jihyo a little friendship as well.

When Chaeyoung and Momo happened, Jihyo was already prepared to give up the people who would give her a little kindness, but she still hoped she could have a little company every now and then. She couldn’t. Jihyo tried to be hopeful for the first few days, she went to have lunch with them, to see if they would walk home with her, but they didn’t, the time for her to give up her time with them had come. She knew it was going to happen, just hoped she would have more time before it did.

So, doing what she always did, Jihyo just gave up and decided to give her time better use. She could, at least do something now, she had more time to spare, that had Jihyo knocking at the student council door, and asking for work, she should just give her free time at school to help out with something. After class, she would study and still have free time, so she decided to give her parents some help with herself, and got a part time job, so she could have some money for herself and give her share, that her parents would give her, to her sisters.

Being a student, still, Jihyo couldn’t fill all her hours with shifts, so she still had a few free hours on the week. She decided to give her mother what was always wanted from her and took on more singing lessons, but they, too, had a limit. Then Jihyo decided to give others a better sight when they would chance to look at her, and went to the gym, she could always try and get a better shape.

Time went by, Jihyo had all her hours occupied with something, she was tired enough to not have to think about anything, once she got home, she would only hold off long enough to finish whatever schoolwork was left and slept out her long dreamless and restless hours. The girls happened to show up at some point, they were, again, giving her some of their time, but Jihyo knew that it was just out of politnessness. So Jihyo gave them what they asked for, one lunch.

That one lunch showed Jihyo exactly what she already knew. She saw her presence wasn’t welcomed anymore, the new partners of those who would be so kind to give her some of their time weren’t as nice. They demanded, with every right, the girls’ time all for themselves, so Jihyo just gave them that one last encounter as her silent farewell. She just fell back into her routine, trying to not bother anyone and giving her best to do all the tasks she set herself out for.

Again, Jihyo couldn’t tell how it had been, she was just pushing hour by hour, trying to keep living and keep herself busy enough to not give anyone any worries. She was beginning to forget how things were when she wasn’t so busy. But she never wanted to let herself reminisce in those times, they were simply passing memories, she knew their time would come to an end, it made no sense to hold on to mere memories.

It was a friday, Jihyo had gotten off work late, she would take longer shifts on fridays and saturdays, dragged herself home hoping to find some leftover dinner, if anyone had remembered her, then just take a shower and sleep. She knew it was unlikely to truly find anything left to eat, her sisters would bring friends over and they wouldn’t really leave anything behind, but she could just sleep if that was the case. It didn’t matter, she had a few kilos to lose anyways, missing a meal should help. But she had been missing a meal way too often.

When she got home, her mother was waiting for her outside, an uncharacteristic smile on her face, that made Jihyo question if she had done something wrong, if she had failed to give her parents anything they wanted from her. But, when the woman spoke, she understood that her mother was just glad for her daughter, satisfied that her daughter wasn’t as much of a failure. Not that she was that worried, really, she just thought that a change of pace was good for anyone, to make things livelier.

Jihyo headed to her room, as her mother had told her ‘they are waiting for you upstairs’. She wasn’t expecting anyone to show up, honestly, she could do with some sleep right then, she was set to work first shift the next day. Had pleaded with her manager, who said she could come, but would be sent home on the spot if she showed up not looking well enough, so she was really worried about having rested by then.

It set an eerie feeling at the pit of Jihyo’s stomach, once she got to the room’s door. There were familiar voices coming from inside, her sister passed by and told her to give them some peace and tell the girls to keep their voices down. Jihyo couldn’t deny her, she would give her family their peaceful night, she needed to have those girls go home, leave her be, she was doing fine, she was sure she was alright. She wasn’t.


	6. 6

“Why are you guys here? Not that I don’t appreciate the visit, but I have an early shift tomorrow.” Jihyo says as she enters the room.

“We were waiting for you. We are here for the weekend, so that shift of yours will have to be put on hold.” Nayeon says, getting up to hug the girl.

“Well, you guys could stay the night, but I’m still working tomorrow, so just do your thing while I’m out.” Jihyo answers, not wanting to be impolite.

“No deal. We are staying and you are staying with us.” Mina declares in a definitive tone.

“Girls, I kind of have to work. You could all go out with your girlfriends for the day, and I’ll come and have dinner with you when I get off.” Jihyo tries to negotiate.

“Jihyo, we came to spend the weekend with you, and we can’t do that if you are not here.” Nayeon reasons.

“I’m glad that you three came by, but I’m sure you all have better ways to spend your weekends.” The girl still tries to get the others to understand.

“Jihyo, you are not alright. We are going to stay, and you are not going to get out of this. Now, call your manager and ask for a shift change.” Tzuyu says with a definitive tone, gaze unwavering and not allowing for discussion.

“Tzuyu, I already said I appreciate the visit, but I will be working tomorrow morning, until late afternoon. I could come by wherever you are all gathered to have dinner together, but I am not in a position to simply skip work.” Jihyo uses a voice she never wanted to use with them, commanding and unaccepting.

“Fine.” The youngest accepted and went back to being silent.

The night went on with superfluous conversations, Jihyo just brushes over her recent activities with the student council, how she has been getting back into singing, and steers the conversation away from her with practiced ease, not really allowing it to return. Tzuyu definitely noticed, but was too angry to trust herself to talk, Jihyo was running from them and the other two were allowing her, she wanted to rage, to scream, to demand Jihyo would just speak to them.

She didn’t. Mina and Nayeon got steered along without noticing, and seemed to be enjoying the evening with their friend. The two were always a bit on the dense side, they wouldn’t see through the small cracks Jihyo’s façade had. Tzuyu was just getting hurt at some point, she asked herself why the girl wouldn’t just trust her, trust them, and talk to them. She knew they had a special place for the girl in their hearts, but started to question herself, to question if they were so unreliable to the point where Jihyo would do this to herself instead of taking their hands that had been stretched out to her from the beginning.

As it got later, Jihyo asked them to just go to sleep as she had to be up early the next day. The girls did. Jihyo waited for them to be out and headed to her small balcony, her room was a former storage room (she had given her real room for her youngest sister when she was born), with low ceiling and a big window without blinds (those were too expensive) that went out to a small balcony that really just fit two people standing. Tzuyu, on the other hand, had been restless ever since she saw the girl that evening. So, she just followed Jihyo out, closing the door behind them so they could have a talk, for once.

“Tzu? I thought you were asleep.”

“I know, if you didn’t you wouldn’t be out here. You’d still be in bed, pretending to have fallen asleep.”

“I forget how perceptive you really are, sometimes.”

“I know, those two make such a ruckus that one forgets the details.”

“They sure do.” Jihyo lets out a humorless chuckle.

“Jihyo, can we talk?”

“I thought we did? All night, to be precise.”

“I mean, talk, not brush over some meaningless things and have you run away from the subject.”

“I can try. No promises.”

“Why do you hide so much?”

“I don’t, though?”

“You hid the entire night, you have been hiding ever since Chaeyoung and Momo came along. You hide behind that sickening smile and those misleading words. Why do you hide so much? Are we nothing to you?”

“Tzuyu, calm down. They might wake up.”

“Good, they want to know too. We all want to know, Jihyo. But you keep hiding.”

“So do you want to talk tomorrow during dinner, then? Since it would be better to just let you all ask everything at once?!”

“IF you even show up, you mean. You come one time when we ask you to, then you get away again.”

“It took you a while before you came by again, though.”

“That’s fair. But I can’t just let this go like this.”

“I know it’s fair. And are you certain you want this? Do you really want me to show up, to talk about myself, let you know how my day is going? Are you honestly interested?”

Tzuyu kept mum.

“Thought so. I’m going to have dinner with you all tomorrow, take the time think it through. If you have a real answer by then, let me know, I’ll be glad to give you whatever you decide on.”

Jihyo just patted the girl’s head and went back inside, she got to her corner of the bed, squeezing herself against the headboard to make sure she wasn’t against any of the others, and willed herself to sleep, she would need any rest she could get the next morning. Tzuyu could only look at the older one, dejected, her heart breaking that bit more seeing the girl not wanting to risk leaning on any of them, not even by accident.

The next morning was…. Uncomfortable, to say the least. Tzuyu woke up when she heard Jihyo’s alarm go off, she saw the other get out of bed, looking worse than the night before, and making sure she wouldn’t touch any of the others still asleep. Once jihyo had picked up her clothes and left for the bathroom, Tzuyu made sure to wake the other two and headed out to the kitchen to make some breakfast. 

The youngest, for the first time, opened the fridge at jihyo’s house, and her heart was shattered, she moved on to open some cabinets, and the urge to break down and cry then and there was so overpowering that she returned to the bedroom and told the others they would just leave once jihyo was out of the bathroom. Nayeon tried to argue they should have some food before going, but Tzuyu’s eyes were so pained that the older one just agreed.

Jihyo was ready to go to work soon enough, so the others just left for Nayeon’s, as it was just two houses away, and the two older ones were worried for Tzuyu, who managed to swallow her tears long enough to send their host out to work. As soon as she stepped inside Nayeon’s house, she started sobbing uncontrollably, once inside Nayeon’s room, she just broke down, with the other two holding her tight, without understanding a single thing. The girl was never one to show so much emotion.


	7. 7

Tzuyu had been crying for the better part of an hour, it had dwindled down to controlled sobs, but the girl was still at it. Nayeon had called Chaeyoung and Momo over, about ten minutes into it, and they were all just waiting around for the other to speak. Nobody really understood what was happening, since Nayeon and Mina had seen Jihyo go into the bathroom and Tzuyu headed to the kitchen, so they didn’t really talk, and the rest of Jihyo’s family was still asleep, there was (seemingly) no reason for this.

After being held by her girlfriends, and crying out all the tears she could at the moment, Tzuyu decided to speak up. She knew everyone was worried about her, they had never seen her like that, and quite honestly, neither had herself. 

“Tzu, baby, do you think you can talk to us now?” Mina says in a very careful voice, seeing the youngest was trying to say something.

“I can. Just give me a second, I’ll just go have some water and wash my face.” Tzuyu answers, heavily breathing and sounding exhausted.

“Want us to go with you?” Chaeyoung questions, still hesitant on leaving her girlfriend’s side.

“No, I’m alright now, Chae. I’ll be right back, promise.” Tzuyu kisses Chaeyoung’s forehead, then Mina’s, and leaves for the bathroom.

The girls just stay silent, waiting for Tzuyu to come back and tell them what happened. As far as they all knew, nothing had happened for the girl to break down like that. They were all lost on how to act, Tzuyu hasn’t spoken and there was nothing they could do to really help. When Tzuyu came back into Nayeon’s bedroom, they were all waiting for her to speak, their full attention on the girl, who felt a bit intimidated.

“Are you telling us what happened?” Chaeyoung egged her on.

“Jihyo.” Tzuyu let out on a shaky breath.

“What did she do? I’ll kill her.” The smallest one jumped to her feet.

“She did nothing, Chae. And that’s most of my problem. She never did anything, but still-” Tzuyu came to a halt, trying to control herself.

“Is that why you got her to promise to come have dinner with us?” Nayeon asked, a knowing look on her face.

“I should have known you two were awake.” Tzuyu chuckles, humorlessly.

“You looked restless. We thought it would be good to let you talk to her alone.” Mina said, guiding the taller girl to sit down.

“That wasn’t the problem. Not a problem, really. The answer to her question last night.” Tzuyu continued.

“So, what happened this morning?” Nayeon asked.

“Have any of you ever opened the fridge at Jihyo’s house? Or a cupboard?” 

“No, the first time we really spent more than a couple of hours there was yesterday.” Nayeon answered, growing more curious.

“Well, I did. I went down to, maybe, make some breakfast for us before Jihyo would throw us out. When I opened the fridge, there was a space labeled ‘Jihyo’, it was almost empty. Then I went on to look at the cupboards, and there was also a very small space with her name on it. Her things would also have her name on them, but they were all over other places, and already consumed. When I was coming back to the room I hear her sister on her bedroom saying she would just take Jihyo’s, I don’t know what exactly.

Then it all made sense, the way Jihyo would always be missing something. Or how, sometimes, she would come by to our table at lunch and just sit there, saying she wasn’t really hungry, then just drink a lot of water later.”

“What are you trying to say Tzu?” Momo finally asked.

“I’m saying Jihyo is worse than we thought she would be. Maybe has been going on her whole life, but she never really said anything. I’m saying that, when Jihyo asked me if I was honestly interested last night, I hesitated. This morning i found my answer.”

“And are you?” Chaeyoung asked.

“I am. What I saw and heard in that house made me put the pieces together, and I want to be someone she could come to, someone she would think about asking for help.”

“And she said she would show up wherever we would call her to, tonight?” Momo asked, sympathy visible in her.

“She did. But I just wanted her to eat something at this point. She didn’t have anything to eat last night, and left this morning with nothing but a small box of milk.” Tzuyu huffed, frustrated.

“What?” Momo was annoyed. “You guys said she got home around eight thirty. How did she not eat anything? Or even this morning.”

“Well, Mo, all we ever have been served at Jihyo’s were juice and tea, but we had only been there very few times. We met up late, so we had already had dinner. When we got there, Jihyo’s mom told us she wasn’t home yet, and that we could just go up and wait at her room, as she was doing the dinner dishes.” Nayeon explained.

“So we went up, thinking Jihyo would come greet us and then excuse herself to eat for a while. Only, that never happened. We heard Jihyo come in and head to her room, she never mentioned eating, so we just brushed it aside. But her stomach rumbling gave it away, even when she tried to make us focus on something else.” Mina continued.

“So, you are saying she is starved?” Momo concluded.

“Yes. But I think it’s more like they don’t bother considering her at all. From what I grasped yesterday.” Tzuyu finishes, tears streaming down her face once again.

They all fell into a heavy silence, Nayeon and Mina mulling over the new information, they saw that Jihyo wasn’t as well as they had thought. Chaeyoung and Momo trying to digest everything they just found out. And Tzuyu just trying to collect herself, to be sobered up enough by dinner time. They were, now, all worried about the girl, what was really happening behind the, now, sickening smile Jihyo would always put up for everyone else. How bad was it behind that façade.


	8. 8

When dinner time came by, Jihyo showed up to Nayeon’s as she promised. The girls decided it was better to stay at a private place, as things were certain to get out of hand. They had asked the girl if she was alright with Momo and Chaeyoung joining them, to which she only responded with a ‘they are your girlfriends, it’s Nayeon’s house’. They knew she would draw back again, but the two had been adamant in jumping into the Jihyo team.

Jihyo knocked on the door, she knew they were trying to feel better at themselves, reaching out to her and trying to make her feel included again. So Jihyo would give them what they wanted, she would entertain them while she was there, nibble at whatever they gave her, give them half answers that would appease them and get on with her life. Go back to her routine and try to get that scholarship she had been chasing since the beginning of the year, she wouldn’t tell them about that, they didn’t need to know.

“You really came.” Nayeon says and brings the girl into a hug.

“I said I would. I keep my word, no?” Jihyo chuckles.

“You always do. Come in, dinner is almost ready.” the older starts in a quiet mumble then tries to cheer herself up.

Jihyo entered the place, she had gone home and took a shower before coming, so there was really no coat or purse she could give Nayeon to hang. Heading into the kitchen, following the host, she saw all the other girls were there, Mina and Momo had been cooking, Chaeyoung seemed to have been playing some card game, Tzuyu was just sitting by the table. They all greeted her when she entered, Jihyo gave them all a polite smile, excused herself before sitting down and remained quiet, smile still on her face.

“I can’t do this. I have to speak up.” Tzuyu blurted, not even five minutes after.

“Tzuyu, we agreed to talk after dinner.” Mina tries to calm the girl down.

“It’s okay, Mina. She must have been thinking about it since this morning.” Jihyo answers, very polite smile still on her lips.

“Are you sure about it?” Nayeon asks, a bit sickened by the girl’s demeanor.

“Ofcourse, I was the one who said she would have all the answers she needed.” Jihyo answered, unwavering.

“I don’t want answers I need. I want the truth, Jihyo.” Tzuyu says dryly, hurt visible in her eyes.

“I don’t lie, Tzuyu. So, go on, ask away.” Jihyo answers back, still too calm.

“Why are you keeping that sickening smile up?” Momo bites, not being able to contain herself anymore.

Her and Chaeyoung had began questioning their attitude towards Jihyo from the beginning, they spent the entire afternoon learning about the relationship between their girls and Jihyo. Both found out that Jihyo had never had friends she hung out with before them, that she had been bullied here and there but never really complained, just took it. That, even though she had an almost perfect record, Jihyo would still give her free time away to help any club or association at school.

They learned that the girl would never, honestly, lean on anyone, for she was taught she could never take from anyone, she shouldn’t take anyone’s time or attention for herself, so she hid behind a smile and just gave everyone else whatever they wanted from her. It didn’t sit well with any of them, and Momo, ironically, couldn’t stomach it after seeing how the girl looked like when she stepped into the kitchen. It was way worse than she thought.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I should just go, this wasn’t a good idea.” Jihyo answered and made to get up.

“You are going to sit there and talk to us.” Chaeyoung said, placing a hand at the girl’s shoulder and keeping her seated.

“My presence seems to be bothering you all. It’s alright, I’ll just go.” Jihyo tried to negotiate.

“Don’t. Just don’t. We want you to stay here and have dinner with us, and talk to us honestly.” Mina tries to appease the situation.

“Alright, I will stay.” Jihyo said, still with a polite expression, but the smile was gone.

“That, that is exactly what I’m trying to say. Why are you keeping that face up? Just let us see you, already!” Momo blurts out again.

“I don’t think I really understand what you want from me. You want me to take my clothes off?” Jihyo was genuinely confused.

“No, Jihyo. She means that you are still keeping up that happy-go-lucky attitude, and we know you are not okay.” Chaeyoung tries.

“Or is it that you don’t even know how bad you are right now?” Tzuyu asks, eyes brimmed with tears again.

“I would appreciate it if you would explain to me what is going on here.” 

“I saw your fridge. And your cupboards too.” Tzuyu deadpans.

“Oh. That.” Jihyo seemed to grasp the situation.

“Yes, that. Now, will you talk to us?” Nayeon loses her patience.

“Sure, what do you all want to know?” Jihyo lets out a resigned huff.

“You can start by telling us why you have your own space on the fridge at your own house?” Momo asks, setting down the food.

“Well, my parents said that, since I can work and pay for my own things, they wouldn’t buy me anything, anymore.” The polite smile is back.

“What? You are their child, and they say they aren’t feeding you anymore?” Chaeyoung sounds frustrated.

“It’s not like that, I can still live at their house, and they are paying for my education. They just want me to learn how to provide for myself.” 

“That’s nonsense! And you are still trying to justify them.” Chae gets angry, and Mina just puts a hand on her shoulder to sit her back down.

“They are my parents, I should, at least, try to understand them.”

“And, is that why you have been losing so much weight?” Mina asks, trying to get the conversation moving.

“I have been going to the gym, and am on a diet. It must be working, I take it.”

“Jihyo, you are not ‘in shape’ thin, you are ‘sickly and worrying’ thin.” Nayeon points out.

“Isn't that just because you haven’t seen me in a while?”

“No, it’s because you aren’t eating properly and exhausting yourself.” Nayeon rebutts.

“I’m just filling my free time with something productive, it’s not like I’m not getting any rest.”

“Your own manager said she doesn’t think you should be working that much, and that you have been looking more tired lately.” Chaeyoung chimes in.

“And how would you even know where I work? None of you ever asked me about my job so far.” Jihyo says ever-so-politely.

“That doesn’t mean we don’t know about it. And we went there to meet Jeongyeon last week. We arrived as you were leaving.” Tzuyu answered, taking a bit of offence for the jab at her girlfriend.

“And you are getting angry because?” Jihyo enlarges the polite smile, irking something in everyone.

“I a- I don’t know. I’m sorry, I just got angry.” Tzuyu apologizes, she herself doesn’t know why she snapped.

“Jihyo, could you, please, drop the act?” Mina asks tiredly.

“I’m not sure what act you might be referring to. I just pointed out something and was screamed at for no apparent reason.” 

“I-” Tzuyu starts, angered once more.

“You are right.” Chaeyoung cuts her girlfriend. “But, could we get past that already? My point is, I happened upon the place you work, and asked my cousin about you, your manager heard and talked to us.”

“Very well. My manager worries too much. I’m within the hour limit.”

“Jeongyeon mentioned she found you too tired as well.” Mina mentions.

“And who would this Jeongyeon you talk about be?” Jihyo slightly raises her eyebrows.

“My cousin, she works at the same place as you, but said you two never had shifts together.” Chaeyoung answers.

“Oh, which one is she, by the way? I really don’t know her.” Jihyo, finally, looks confused.

“Tall one, just below shoulder hair, likes to joke around but it terrible at it.” Tzuyu answers.

“Oh, I’ve seen her come in when I’m changing sometimes.”

“Yeah, so are you going to tell us why you are exhausting yourself?”

They continued throughout the night like that, the girls have already told their parents they were staying over, Jihyo’s were simply glad they didn’t have her home, they would never bother asking. The girls learned a lot about Jihyo, who remained with that polite smile plastered on her face, making the others get the bad kind of shivers the entire time. Tzuyu and Mina took notice that the girl never ate at all.


	9. 9

It was almost the end of the year when Jihyo was run into by Jeongyeon and Sana. Quite literally. None of the three really knew each other, Jihyo and Jeongyeon knew who each other were, as they worked at the same place, but that was as far as it went. Jihyo was waiting for Chaeyoung, the girl had asked her for lunch, and was coming her way with Jeongyeon, when Sana tripped down the stairs to their left.

In a reflex, Jihyo positioned to hold the girl, and Jeongyeon ran to do the same, and was just in time to catch the falling girl. It was winter, so the buds blooming in Jeongyeon’s left forearm weren’t seen, but the ones on Sana’s neck were, Jihyo noticed them and saw it happen as they did knowing what that meant for her. They took a few seconds to come out of it.

Jeongyeon got her arm scratched, what led her to pull up her sleeves. Sana was wide eyed, and seemed to have grasped the situation, Jihyo was feeling a rather sharp pain in her lower back, so she decided to pay attention to that first. But everything went downhill when Sana spoke, she and Jeongyeon were focusing on each other and Jihyo was left out completely.

“It bloomed.” Sana said, a hand went to her neck. “I never thought it would so soon.”

“You kind of fell for me right away, huh?” Jeongyeon jokes.

“Jihyo, are you alright? You are bleeding a little.” Chaeyoung breaks their moment, and both seemed to remember the girl that was there as well.

Jihyo just let Chaeyoung help her up, saw that she had a cut on her shin, it stung when she tried to lean on the leg. Jeongyeon looked apologetic, even though she had been hurt as well, Sana started panicking when she saw both girls got hurt because of her. 

“I’m so very sorry. I’m Sana, Minatozaki Sana. I really didn’t mean fo-”

“It’s alright, Sana-ssi. I’m sure nobody would come flying down the stairs on purpose. At least the damage was minimal.” Jihyo cut the girl off, trying to get away as fast as she could.

“Like she said, it was an accident. I’m Yoo Jeongyeon, by the way.” Jeongyeon assured the girl.

They both looked at Jihyo and Chaeyoung, the younger one furiously typing away on her phone, Jihyo just looked…. Afraid? Shaken? A bit hurt? Maybe all of it. She took the hint, and decided to speak up.

“Park Jihyo, this is Son Chaeyoung.” Jihyo introduced, gesturing to Chae, who was still busy with her phone. “I think I’ll have to drop by the nurse’s. You should consider going as well, Jeongyeon-ssi.”

“Jeongyeon is fine. And yeah, I think we all should. Can you walk, Jihyo -ssi?”

“Jihyo is enough. I think I can. Chae could always help anyways.”

“I got her, Jeong. Let’s go.” Chaeyoung declared as she pocketed her phone. “I was telling the girls.” She added low enough for Jihyo’s ears only.

Getting to the nurse, Jihyo insisted the other two got treated first, she really just wanted them to leave soon. But it never went as she hoped. Jeongyeon insisted that, even if she would get treated first, she would wait to make sure Jihyo was alright. Sana was too guilty to leave her alone as well, but was also there to act on her interest for Jeongyeon. Which led to both having some flirty conversation, shamelessly coming on to each other, seemed like they assumed both their buds had bloomed for each other.

Not common, but not unheard of. So both just assumed their bond was to be stronger, for both buds bloomed at the same time. Jihyo swallowed the lump on her throat, and tried to ignore the sensation coming from the, now, useless mark on her back. She understood the girls would never consider her, as they didn’t really see her flowers blooming. And, as always, she just gave away the love she thought she would find someday.

Chaeyoung saw the extreme sadness on her friend’s eyes, she had managed to get closer to Jihyo, they all did, since the day they forced the other to talk to them honestly, and knew something was very wrong. She had sent a message to Mina, asking her to tell the others they would be late for lunch, but would explain later. Now, she needed to talk to them without the girl in question, but also wanted to find out what was really happening.

“There is still plenty of time for lunch. We should get going. Are you ready?” Chaeyoung said as soon as the nurse finished treating Jihyo, looking at the girl.

“Can we come too?” Sana asked.

“I thought you two would go together.” Jihyo answered, the old polite smile on her face, causing Chaeyoung to worry even more.

“I kind of want to treat you both to lunch. As a thanks, and a I’m sorry.” Sana chirped.

“No need for that, Sana-ssi. Like I said, it was merely an accident, there is nothing to thank or apologise for.” Jihyo tried to dismiss the girl again.

“No, I’m treating you both to lunch.” Sana declared, puffing her cheeks.

“Alright, we’ll take it.” Jeongyeon tried to bring an end to the argument.

“Very well, if you both don’t mind sitting with our friends, I’ll accept it.” Jihyo’s polite face was too natural as she answered them gesturing to Chaeyoung.

“So, let’s go. The girls should be worried already.” Chaeyoung said, swallowing the wave of nausea Jihyo’s face brought her.

Getting to their table was easy, Jihyo was walking much better after the nurse had cleaned and bandaged her cut. Chaeyoung had messaged Mina ahead, saying Jihyo’s politeness was back, and got a rather worried response, but both agreed to just handle it as things went. It was never wise to push Jihyo into anything, she would just pull away.

The girls perked up when two new faces joined them, Momo and Nayeon seemed to have some classes with Jeongyeon, so they just officially introduced themselves. Mina knew Sana from some of her classes as well, but never really talked. Introductions over, Tzuyu offered to go get Jihyo’s food, to which Sana declared she would handle since it would be her treat.  
Chaeyoung just sat between Jihyo and Mina, and hurriedly whispered something to her girlfriends who looked worried, but played it off as just being concerned for their friend.

Tzuyu managed to whisper something to Momo and Nayeon little after, who also began looking concerned, Jihyo was the only one to notice, as Jeongyeon and Sana seemed to be more interested on each other. Jihyo played with her food, nibbling on something when Sana or Jeongyeon looked her way, but never eating. She even allowed Jeongyeon to tell their manager she wouldn’t be going to work that day, as both were aching all over.

Now, THAT was something the girls got truly worried about, Jihyo would never miss work for such a simple accident like that. But they knew something was very wrong already. So they took it to their group chat, the one with Jihyo, and declared they would be going to Mina’s house after classes, and talk there. Jihyo’s polite smile never left her, prompting all the others to feel a wave of dread wash over them, bar the two new ones, who never seemed to notice anything.


	10. 10

Jihyo had clammed up again, Nayeon was the one to pick her up on her classroom, she noticed Sana had that last class with the girl. And was talking animatedly with a very polite looking Jihyo, the sight irked something in Nayeon, Mina stopped her before she did anything (she was right at the next classroom). Although, looking into the room, the younger’s stomach twisted as well.

Making quick work of it, Mina and Nayeon managed to dismiss Sana and guide Jihyo out to the front gate fast. Chaeyoung, Tzuyu and Jeongyeon were talking by the lockers, the smallest one got her cousin to go away once she got what Mina gestured for her to do. They stopped by the market on the way, all knew Jihyo would refuse buying anything from a convenience store, and they could make better excuses for going there instead.

Getting settled up at Mina’s kitchen, Tzuyu and Nayeon had sat Jihyo down between them, and Momo and Chaeyoung proceeded to make them dinner. Mina sat across from the other three, all looking very worried, and Jihyo still not talking.

“Jihyo, what happened?” Mina tries, looking straight into the other’s eyes.

“Not much. I was waiting for Chaeyoung by the stairs near her classroom, then a girl fell down the stairs, Chae’s cousin and I tried to catch her and we all walked away with a few scratches.” Jihyo answers, nobody really believes her, but they’ll work on that slowly.

“Ji, talk to us? Please.” Tzuyu begged.

“I am. I just told you what happened.”

“Maybe, but there is more to it. Jeongyeon’s buds bloomed, so did Sana’s, but they both had a pink Cyclamen that was obviously not for any of the two.” Chaeyoung observed in a grimm tone.

“What do you mean?” Nayeon asked, making sure to allow Jihyo to talk.

“Well, Jeong had a yellow Crocus and a pink Cyclamen. Sana, from what I saw, had a purple Iris and a pink Cyclamen. We don’t get our own buds, so they couldn’t have the same one and have it be for each other.” Chaeyoung further explained.

“I have something to show you all, then.” Jihyo made to get up, resigned.

The girl got out of her seat, Chaeyoung and Momo came out of the kitchen to see everything closer. The other three sat up straighter on their chairs, all eager for their friend’s first voluntary sharing. Jihyo went around the table, to be in a better position, then took off her shirt, her protruding ribs and collarbone in full view. It made the others’ stomachs churn and a very bad chill run down their spines. The girl looked frail and greenish beneath the uniform, thin arms that seemed about to break at any moment.

In their trance, they didn’t notice Jihyo was afraid, but still turned around, flowers in full bloom, a beautiful purple Iris and yellow Crocus, intertwined magnificently in a heart shape, right behind where her heart should be. The others were mesmerized by the image, but a deep cut was carved through their hearts, they understood what that meant, who those flowers had so beautifully bloomed for, how the girl’s heart was so open and full with a love she wouldn’t ever allow herself to give.

“Ji-” Nayeon started, but was cut by Tzuyu standing up and marching to Jihyo to envelop the girl in the warmest and most loving hug she could muster.

All the others followed instantly, they couldn’t bring themselves to let go, not that any wanted to, Jihyo started crying, for the very first time since she was a child. Violent sobs wrecking the frail body, only held up by the welcoming arms around her, the girls felt their chests burn. The violent wave of love, care, relief, gratitude, worry, acceptance, that surged through their bodies demanded release, so they cried as well. The girls cried for the one in their arms, the one who was, finally, trusting them and showing them her true self.

Mina was the first one to draw back, not letting go, but she took Jihyo’s face with gentle hands, taking advantage of her position right in front of the girl, she look deep into those deep chocolate eyes that said so much and kissed Jihyo’s lips. An act of pure love, that conveyed just that, her girlfriends looking fondly at the scene, and moving to do just the same, followed by the older couple. That moment was when they all pledged to never let the girl be that broken again, a silent vow that bonded them all. They would fail, yes. But they would try with everything they had.

The afternoon went into the night and Nayeon and Momo decided to go home, Jihyo said she would go with them, taken Nayeon lived just beside herself. The others agreed it would be better, and so they left, the trio staying behind as they would like to talk amongst themselves, Jihyo asked if it would be alright if she went with them, Momo just took her hand and made to the door.

The couple could talk after dropping Jihyo home, none were too hasty for it, just wanted to enjoy the girl’s company, maybe give her some affection while at it. The trio accompanied them to the door, and headed to the couch as soon as it closed. Tzuyu, the most sensitive of the three, still felt her heart constricted, Chaeyoung was worried over what she saw, and Mina was just worried over everything.

“Are you hanging on alright, Yu?” Chaeyoung asked, voice soft and careful.

“I am, it’s just that it still hurts. I know it shouldn’t, not this much, bu-” 

“We know. We are feeling the same way.” Mina cuts her, pulling both girls into her arms.

“You know, I thought I would get jealous if you ever kissed someone who wasn’t the two of us. I’m ashamed to admit I was jealous of Jihyo at first, but when I saw you two kissing her today, all I could feel was love and be proud of the both of you. I don’t know if this is something that I should be thinking, but I think I’m a little bit in love with Jihyo.” Chaeyoung admits, low voice and face flushed.

“I think we all fell in love with her…. A little bit.” Mina answers, and Tzuyu lets out a wet chuckle in agreement.

After seeing Jihyo home, Momo followed Nayeon so they could talk today through. Jihyo had composed herself before getting inside, if one looked at her at that moment, it wouldn’t be possible to tell she had a breakdown that afternoon. The couple never said anything, both just left jihyo with warm hugs and a soft kiss, heading, then to their own time, so they could understand each other about the developments of the day.

“Yeonnie, is it bad that I think I might have fallen for Jihyo a little?” Momo asks, as soon as she sits on Nayeon’s bed.

“I was about to ask the same thing. But I would say it’s normal? At least for us, the five of us, I mean. I think we are all in love with her the same way.” Nayeon answers as she hugs her girlfriend.

“So it’s alright that I don’t feel like there is something wrong with giving her hugs and kisses like we did today?” Momo asks innocently, not a hint of malice in her.

“I think it’s alright. I want to do the same thing, so it would be a problem if you thought that wasn’t alright.” Nayeon answers in a chuckle and just kisses her girlfriend.

They end up in a very heated make out session, a much different type of love being shown to each other. The trio was in a very similar situation, still learning how to make it work with three people. Jihyo went to sleep with warmth spreading through her whole body, a sincere smile on her face and a lightness in her heart that he had never felt before.


	11. 11

The rest of the year went by with Jeongyeon and Sana trying to befriend the group, Jihyo had told them that it was alright, but the girls refused to, trully, allow the two in completely. Understandable, but they still hung out together and talked, Jihyo continued with her routine, but her friends made sure she was eating and resting, as much as they could. Whilst the new duo was glad to make new friends, not really noticing the clear wall that separated them.

Summer vacation came by, and the girls demanded Jihyo would take some days off and come visit for a few days, each. The first one was Nayeon, not much change on how far they were from the Parks’ residence, but, for Jihyo, it was a completely different world. The Ims were a very warm family, though both parents worked, they made sure Nayeon was well cared for and knew they were sorry they had to work late from time to time. Mr and mrs Im greeted Jihyo with warm smiles and even warmer hugs in the sunday morning she arrived.

It was the first weekend after classes were dismissed, Nayeon declared Jihyo was coming over, even going to the lengths to go to Jihyo’s work and tell the girl’s manager she was taking Jihyo for a few days. Mrs Choi (the manager) was more than delighted to allow the days off, saying she was overjoyed that the girl was, finally, resting and that she was starting to worry, even. Jihyo already had enough extra hours to have the whole month off.

Next saturday night would have been Tzuyu’s turn, but things took a turn on friday, and everyone’s turn came, then. Tzuyu had an older sister, the girl was in another school, and seemed to have left for a exchange program overseas a few months prior, nevertheless, they still seemed very close. Mina was the one to call them all, Tzuyu had showed up at her house crying and incoherent, Chaeyoung was there within minutes, and the others arrived when they could.

Once Jihyo arrived (the last one to), Tzuyu had already calmed down, but was still not talking. Jihyo hugged everyone (she had been doing that lately) and saw Tzuyu, the youngest was looking at nothing and not reacting to anything, so Jihyo just sat in front of her and waited. That seemed to do the trick, as Tzuyu looked at her and threw herself in Jihyo’s arms. The others were a bit surprised and relieved by it, at least it was a reaction.

They just stayed like that for a good while, nobody really minded nor worried about checking how long, they were just happy to, finally, have a reaction that wasn’t crying. Chaeyoung was careful approaching, and tried to talk to Tzuyu on the calmest and sweetest voice any of them ever heard.

“Yu, honey, do you think you could talk to us?”

“Yes.” Tzuyu answered in a very small voice, from her place in Jihyo’s arms.

“Yu, we all love you so much. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” Mina adds, also in a very loving tone.

“No, it’s alright. I also wanted to talk to Jihyo.” Tzuyu answers with a small shake of her head.

“Well, I’m all ears.” Jihyo responds and tightens her hold on the girl a bit more.

“You know I have an older sister, right?” They all just nod. “So, she had a very close friend, it was her soulmate, but they decided to not date yet, since my sister was going abroad.”

“That’s very mature of them.” Mina tries, taking one of Tzuyu’s hands in hers, Chaeyoung does the same.

“Yeah, my sister has been away for a year now, and her soulmate still visits us very often. This morning my sister called us crying, she was going to come home next week, but was begging my mother to take us all to her, instead. When she, finally, calmed down a little, she said her flower had withered during the night. 

Mom and dad talked and decided we would go on monday, and then told me what was happening. They are also in a bad shape, and I didn’t want to burden them anymore, so I came here. I think I just needed to let things out, sorry if I worried you guys.” 

Nayeon was the first one up, she just strut to Tzuyu and snatched the girl in a tight hug, Momo just chuckled and followed suit. Mina and Chaeyoung just made their way into the hug and Jihyo decided to get them some water, she came back with some bottles and entered the hug as well. They broke off, and Momo and Nayeon asked Mina if they could go make something to eat, it was almost past dinner time, getting a nod they were off.

Jihyo just handed them the water and made sure Tzuyu drank, then went off to call her manager and tell she wouldn’t come to work the next day. Her parents never really cared, they were just satisfied to not have her around the house for once, so no point in bothering with them. Then headed to the kitchen, giving the trio some time for themselves. Momo and Nayeon were making dinner, meaning it would be half Mina’s fridge worth of food prepared, which was not a bad idea, taking that Mina’s parents had called sometime earlier telling they would be home a bit later, and saving them the trouble of making dinner should help a little.

By the time the Myoui parents got home, Tzuyu was much better, mr and mrs Myoui noticed the girl was very sad, but figured the other girls had gathered to cheer her up, so they didn’t bring it up. After dinner, mr Myoui told the girls he would take care of the dishes, as they had already made dinner and mrs Myoui chased them out of the kitchen. When they made it to Mina’s room, they sat in a circle, the couples were cuddling, but Momo made sure she was holding Jihyo’s hand so the girl wouldn’t feel left out.

Tzuyu got Jihyo’s other hand, her girlfriends embracing her on each side, and sat up to (finally) talk about what had been bugging her all day. Mina and Chaeyoung gave their girl a kiss on her cheeks, Momo just held Jihyo’s hand a bit tighter, got a kiss from Nayeon, who was resting her chin against her shoulder, and waited for Tzuyu to start talking again.

“Jihyo, I know it’s not the same, but, how did you handle not having your soulmates by your side after meeting them?”

“I don’t know if you remember well, but I didn’t handle anything at all. I still don’t. It hurts me just that bit more everytime I see them together, laughing at each other, looking at each other just like you guys all do.”

“But you are doing better. At least, I thought you were doing better.” Nayeon interjects.

“I learned that I could love other people too. You guys are always insistent on making sure to remind me you are all here, that I might not have them, but I’m still not left behind.” Jihyo answers with a warm smile, Momo gives her hand a squeeze again.

“But you never talk about how it is for you. I mean, we all try to be there for you, but that doesn’t change the fact that we have our soulmates and you don’t.” Mina asks carefully.

“Honestly? I’m happy to have you all, but there is still that part of me that calls for them. Jeongyeon and Sana are my soulmates, but they never seemed to have noticed that. Maybe it’s because they have each other, maybe it’s because they hang out with us and I’d be around anyways, but they don’t show any signs that they ever thought about me beyond the gloomy girl.” 

“But does it still bother you, does it hurt you or anything?” Tzuyu has very curious eyes, no malice behind them.

“Like I said, it hurts everytime I see them. I just learned to accept it, there’s not much else I could do anyways.”

“You could tell them about you.” Chaeyoung interjects, always one to speak the harsh truths.

“I could. But what good would that do? It’s clear they are satisfied with each other. What would I really get by telling them? Some sympathy hugs and an apology because they don’t see me like that?”

“Maybe they would take you in as well?” Chaeyoung questions again.

“You guys see them more than I do, and even I can tell that’s never going to happen. Look, it feels like a part of me died when I heard them disregard my flowers on them, like they were right in front of me, but in a pretty glass display that I could only look at. But I’m not going to just mope around and watch them, if they don’t think they need anyone else, I’ll just walk away and that’s that.”

“Well, Ji, you do know you are not getting rid of us, though?!” Mina declares with a chuckle, and the atmosphere gets lighter.

“I know, Minguin. But it’s different. Tzu, I might not know how your sister might be feeling, but I can tell you that she will appreciate having her family around. Having people around to just pull you up after you fall is enough. In time, she will do alright.” Jihyo finishes, not knowing how much truth her words hold at the time.

They spend the rest of the night talking, the others taking turns to cuddle Jihyo throughout the process. The next day, they decide to take Tzuyu out to the dog park and then lunch, trying to cheer the girl up before they head to the Chous and help her pack. It truly works, and by the time they all leave to go back to their own houses, Tzuyu is left with a light heart and a strong resolve to do her best and be the best younger sibling she could be.


	12. 12

Jeongyeon and Sana had enjoyed spending time with the girls ever since they met them. They found it encouraging that there were girls who found their soulmates earlier than they had and were doing so well already. Nayeon and Momo were a weird combination, both having this carefree and messy image to them, but they worked together so well that nobody would ever question their bond.

Mina, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were and interesting combination to them. Mina was this goofball wrapped in a gorgeous package, Tzuyu was a sensitive and endearing kid that looked angered with the world simple because she had a hard time completely understanding korean and took a while to think of the words to answer. Chaeyoung looked like those grungy artsy kids, with her disheveled uniform that always seemed to have some ink spilled in it, but was the most level-headed of the entire group (maybe just losing to Jihyo), and seemed to always speak what everyone was thinking.

Jihyo was…. Neither really knew how to define the girl, she wasn’t around that much, the others told them she helped the student council, but both always felt complete whenever she was around. It was intriguing to them, and they had many conversations about the topic, but neither had really come up with an explanation. To Sana, Jihyo was the sun that would warm her up whenever their eyes met, but those eyes held a sadness to them that never seemed to fade. For Jeongyeon, Jihyo was a warm fall afternoon, a perfect weather where she could bask in everything it had to offer with no worries.

Sana had made it a mission to herself to find out more about the girl that seemed to offer much more than she ever got. She was friends with the student council president, a strong girl named Jung Eunbi, and asked around a little about Jihyo. Eunji told her Jihyo had shown up and just asked to help with whatever she could, but worked so hard that, after the first three months, there was not much to be done at all. She was happy to hear about the girl’s hard work, until Eunbi mentioned Jihyo had been losing a lot of weight and seemed to always be too tired.

Jeongyeon heard from Sana about her findings, so she set out to find more on her own. She found out her sister was Jihyo’s homeroom teacher, and decided to ask how the girl was doing. Seungyeon told her Jihyo was one of the most applied students she had ever seen, the girl’s file was excellent, and getting into any colleges should be a walk in the park if she kept it up through high school. But Seungyeon also revealed she was worried about the girl’s wellbeing. The P.E. teacher had commented Jihyo couldn’t participate anymore, something about her knees and her not being well nourished enough to endure.

Seungyeon had also mentioned Jihyo had been looking paler and thinner by the day, and that she had tried to talk to the girl’s parents, but was told that it was nothing and she shouldn’t waste her time on the girl. Then called the girl in question for a private talk, and was told that it was alright, she didn’t want to burden her parents with unimportant things, and apologised to the teacher for the worry. That didn’t quite sit well with neither Jeongyeon nor Sana.

They had seen the sadness in Jihyo’s eyes more times than they would admit, it would be there whenever they approached the girl, hidden behind a polite smile and a kindness they didn’t really believe completely. Both were drawn to the girl by something they couldn’t explain, they even befriended her friends, who were really nice as well, but the entire group still felt distant, like there was something they knew but would never be spoken aloud.

Jeongyeon and Sana knew about each other, Jeong was a lovable theatre kid, most of the school thought her to be a rather good actress with a distinct sense of humor. Sana was a biology nerd, she was known to be hanging around the greenhouse most days, or at the biology lab experimenting with whatever she thought was interesting that day. But neither really knew of Jihyo until the stairs accident, nor did they know each other personally. 

They found out Jihyo was a nice girl, mostly spent time in the council helping out with paperwork, all the officials had only great things to say about her. Then Jeongyeon discovered her cousin was friends with the girl but refused to really talk about her. Sana decided she wanted to get to know Jihyo no matter the rejection the entire group seemed to have towards her, and so, she dragged Jeongyeon with her.

Sana had some classes with Nayeon, others with Momo and one with both. They were a nice couple, both seemed like walking disasters, but fit each other perfectly. So, she decided to talk more with them, try and get closer to the group little by little, maybe starting with the ones she had more access to. And so she went.

Jeongyeon, on the other hand, had her cousin, who was friends with her target, and had shared P.E. with Mina. Her and Chaeyoung weren’t that close, but knew each other well enough to be friendly with each other. Mina was a hard one, though, she looked so composed and unapproachable, especially when she was with her tall girlfriend. Chaeyoung did add to the untouchable atmosphere of the trio, but she was family, so Jeong felt a bit more comfortable around her.

Both girls made some progress, but never with Jihyo herself, they were fairly well received by the girl’s friend group, they were all nothing like what they seemed, and nice girls as well. Jihyo showed up every once in a while, but just ate quickly and left for somewhere they could never find. The others seemed to be more than happy whenever that happened, but Jeongyeon and Sana were always frustrated about that.

They got a lot closer over their endeavour, and, at some point, decided to start dating, they were soulmates afterall, and both enjoyed each other a lot. That turned out to leave a permanent bitter taste in their mouths, by the unforeseen turnout. When they told everyone, Jihyo had come for lunch that day, the mystery girl just stopped eating and left, not even having finished her already small meal. On the following days, at least one of the girls would be missing, they also all drew back a little, the wall getting a bit thicker.

Neither really understood, but persisted on their mission to get closer to them all, especially the, now, missing girl. Jeongyeon had tried to ask Chaeyoung about it, as to why they acted like they did, and how was Jihyo doing, why did she disappear, but the little cousin never really answered to any of it, just gave dismissive answers and played it off as Jeongyeon being paranoid or something.

Sana went on to ask Nayeon and Momo, the duo were kind and lighthearted, so she hoped they would put her worries to rest. Hoped was the right word, as the couple would divert the conversation to something else, or never answer at all. Both were, much to contrast the image they had, very sharp and quick witted, so they never really cracked nor spilled anything, to Sana’s dismay.

Then summer vacation came up, and their efforts went, pretty much, all down the drain. They never met anyone from the group, Jeongyeon’s shifts never coincided with Jihyo’s, as she actually took some time off and the girl worked irregular hours, and Chaeyoung was never really home, either at one of her girlfriends, or at the library, sometimes at home, but with her girlfriends, so those times were not good for Jeongyeon to try and talk to the girl. 

Sana was even less lucky, as she wasn’t really that close to any of the others, and just had Jeongyeon’s workplace as a reference, she did try to go and meet Jihyo there, but is was either full, Jihyo had been sent to work somewhere at the back, or wasn’t working on the day at all. She gave up by the second week. They talked and decided they would just enjoy their vacation and try again when the next school year began.

They just didn’t take into account the day their girl wouldn’t be there anymore.


	13. 13

“Do you know what she wants with this meeting?”

“We are wondering the same, Yu.” Mina answers.

Jihyo had asked them all to meet her for lunch, it’s around the end of the second week of classes. They moved on to highschool and Tzuyu and Chaeyoung are on their last year of middle school, they were waiting at the highschool division cafeteria, Momo and Nayeon were yet to arrive and Jihyo hadn’t been seen so far behind. 

The remaining three show up together, and they all go on to get their lunches before anyone starts talking. It’s more due to the fact that Jihyo hadn’t been eating again, and Tzuyu had been feeling down because of her sister, also not eating. 

“Ji, are you gonna tell us what this is about?” Nayeon asks, she never really had much patience.

“I would, but there are two others coming our way, so let’s meet tonight and we’ll talk. Is that alright?” Jihyo answers, spotting Jeongyeon and Sana coming their way from across the cafeteria.

“Meet at Momo’s?” Nayeon asks.

“Sure, I’ll be over after work. Now, don’t sell us out.” Jihyo dismisses, right on time.

“Hey girls! How are you all today?” Sana greets, taking a seat right across from Jihyo and pulling Jeongyeon with her. 

Momo was on Jihyo’s right, and Chaeyoung on the other side, their girlfriends beside them, so the only vacant seats were just across the table. So everyone went into protective mode immediately, Jihyo wasn’t helping the council so far, so they would always try and take her away from the couple, Jeongyeon had announced the relationship at the end of the first week, Jihyo went back to taking care of herself well.

“We are all well. How about you two?” Chaeyoung asks, holding Jihyo’s hand a bit tighter.

“We are alright. What’s up with you guys, it’s been a couple of days since we talked.” Jeongyeon replies happily.

“Not much, we were just starting to have lunch.” Mina says politely.

They maintain some light conversation while they eat. Momo hadn’t said anything at all, she was one to be more sensitive than most, and found it hard to control herself for the most part. So Jihyo, who also never said anything, had a silent conversation with Nayeon and decided to take the girl out of there before she lost her temper, and was up as soon as Momo finished eating.

“So, if you all excuse us, Momo and I have some business to attend.” Jihyo tells them and drags Momo away before anyone could oppose or question.

Once they were out of ear-shot, Sana couldn’t help but ask.

“Are you alright with your girlfriend being snatched away like that?”

“If it’s being snatched by Jihyo, I would say I would be jealous, really. I mean, how could she just take Momo and not me?! Look at me, I’m obviously the best choice in this group.” Nayeon answers in a mocking tone.

“Whatever you have to tell yourself. But we all know I am the better choice here.” Mina says and they all burst out laughing.

Jeongyeon and Sana are a bit confused. Aren’t they already with their soulmates AND in a relationship? Why are these girls so fine with Jihyo being with one when the one with her should be with their partner? And, more importantly, why were they so bothered by it? Nayeon seemed completely fine, having her girlfriend just leave her for another girl during their time together. Sana was restless, something within her demanded to know where they went, Jeongyeon was pissed, how come Momo just took Jihyo away like that, although it was, clearly, the other way around.

Tzuyu might have noticed something, but decided to never really comment on it. She would love for Jihyo to be happy, but the girl’s soulmates were not the ones to do that. Both seemed nice enough, but she couldn’t bring herself to like them at all. Call her biased, but she will never let any reason for Jihyo to go back to a year ago get to the girl. Chaeyoung sensed something was up with Tzuyu, but it was just a moment, so she let it go.

About fifteen minutes before lunch was over, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu had to go back to middle school division, they just bid goodbye to the group and headed out, making a stop to hug Momo and Jihyo on their way out. The two were really just outside the cafeteria, talking about nothing specific and waiting for the bell to ring. It wouldn’t be a very good idea to go back in, not with the couple still there.

The school day goes on and the girls get anxious about what Jihyo had to say and Momo’s mood grew more sour by the minute, Nayeon was having a hard time keeping the girl in check, as they did have the two last classes with Jeongyeon. Mina wasn’t faring so well either, Sana was in all of her after-lunch classes. Although Momo had always been the mama goose type, who just wants her little ducklings warm and comfortable under her wings, Mina was the mama bear type, she wants her cubs to go out and explore the world, but she will get vicious and ruthless if one of them was ever in any danger. With that, Jihyo was having a very hard time keeping the girl in check, Sana wasn’t helping either, taking all the opportunities to talk to them and, often, went off about how great Jeongyeon and her were doing together.

The last bell never sounded so sweet for Jihyo and Nayeon, it meant they could just drag the two murderous girls out of school and away from the, unknowingly, offending couple. Jihyo had texted Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, asking them to come and pick Mina up as soon as they could, which meant they were right in front of their classroom when they got out (middle school division’s classes ended half an hour earlier), and Jihyo ushered them to take their girlfriend out of there fast, proceeding to text Nayeon that the kids got Mina and she had to go to work, so she would meet them later.

Work had never dragged so long for Jihyo, she was worried about the girls, wondering if they managed to get those two away from school before they did something stupid. But using her phone during her shift was out of the question, and she didn’t really take breaks, making up some extra hours at the end of the month. Thankfully, Jeongyeon’s shift would start about ten minutes after hers would finish, if nothing went wrong, she wouldn’t see the girl at all. It did.

Arriving to Momo’s, she could hear the ruckus coming from the opened window upstairs, Chaeyoung scolding Nayeon about a chemistry equation, or some very weird kink, Jihyo hoped for the first choice. She rang the doorbell and Mrs Hirai came to answer it, giving the girl the warmest of smiles (that’s definitely where Momo got hers) and enveloping her in a suffocating and comforting hug. Mr Hirai comes to get his wife, they didn’t really speak so he got worried about the silence.

“Who was it at the door, hun? Are you alright there?” He asks in a heavily accented japanese.

“It’s Jihyo, she finally came over again!” The woman answers in a very cheery voice, and spins them around, still hugging Jihyo, to hand the girl over to her husband.

“Oh, Jicchan! It’s been a while!” Mr Hirai says with a large smile, taking the kid from his wife and giving her an equally pleasant hug.

“I have been working hard, Mr Hirai. When I get home I just study and sleep.” Jihyo answers in a slightly broken japanese, she learned from Mina, Momo and their parents (none were having it when she said she wanted to learn but was never good at it).

“Nonsense! A kid like you shouldn’t have to work so hard!” Mr Hirai exclaims and they turn to the stairs once they hear someone coming downstairs.

“Mom, dad, please release Jihyo, she must be tired from her job, and we want to finish homework before dinner.” Momo had come for the rescue.

“Alright, but just because I know you aren’t really going to get anything done if she is not there.” Mrs Hirai teases and Momo whines.

The couple send Jihyo up, and, true to their word, no real school work was being done. Nayeon had her book in front of her and Chaeyoung (the chemistry genius she was) was ranting about hydrogen bridges, the eldest was just whining and saying she was sorry about asking. Jihyo let out a chuckle and they all just halted whatever they were doing to get up and hug the girl. Not that she was complaining, Jihyo loved the affection her friends and their families gave her.


	14. 14

They did do their homework and even managed some studying before Mrs Hirai called them for dinner. Jihyo decided it was about time she broke the news to everyone, they should know and she was glad to be able to tell Mr and Mrs Hirai herself, they had her over more than she would like to admit, and had always been the sweetest. She would want to do that with the Chous, Myouis, Ims and Sons as well, but that is a worry for later.

“So, I have something to say.” Jihyo starts with a sigh, sometime after they started eating.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Mrs Hirai asks, a little worried.

“Oh, it’s nothing bad, I promise.” Jihyo is quick to assure. “I applied to a exchange program with my singing professor, and I got accepted. I should be leaving in two or three months.” 

They all pause for a while, Hana, who was coming back with more juice, almost dropped the pitcher. Mina chokes on the food in her mouth, Nayeon had stopped with a wet tissue pressed against Momo’s face, Momo stopped trying to get away from Nayeon. Tzuyu is frozen midway at taking a bite of her dinner, Chaeyoung was cutting some carrots and Mr and Mrs Hirai are looking at Jihyo with wide eyes.

“I have been taking singing lessons for years, now, and my tutors have always been very supportive. So, at the beginning of last year Seungwan unnie talked me into auditioning for this music program overseas, it’s an arts school that has an escalator system with their affiliated university, and I got offered a scholarship there. 

They are willing to support my schooling expenses and I’m offered a room at their dorms. The call came in yesterday, and I said I wanted to go. I know I never said anything about it, but I didn’t want to have hope and get you all rooting for me to not get it in the end. So-”

“That’s great, Jicchan!” Mrs Hirai cuts the girl’s rambling and shoots up, walking around the table and snatching her on a bone-crushing hug.

That was enough for everyone to erupt in cheers, taking turns to congratulate Jihyo, Hana and Momo may or may not have ended dinner sobbing into their plates. Nayeon had some snot flowing down her nose as well, which had Tzuyu kick her shin and demand the girl went to the bathroom and clean herself up. Chae, the level headed and reasonable one, managed to calm Mina down, who slightly snapped when she heard Jihyo call her teacher ‘unnie’.

They managed to finish dinner, somehow, and Tzuyu and Jihyo got rock-paper-scissored into doing the dishes. The other girls went up to Momo’s room to put their things away, intending to not leave too late after the other two were done with the dishes. They ended up sitting on the living room and making Jihyo tell them everything about her exchange program, it got a bit late, and Mr Chou had called to ask if Tzuyu was going home that day, so Mr Hirai drove them all home.

For the next few days, Jihyo went to Mina’s, Chaeyoung’s, Tzuyu’s and Nayeon’s (in that order) to tell their families about being accepted in the program, going about the same questions, but she would tell them the same thing over and over without complaining. Then it came time for her to talk to her own parents, it should be easy, they would be satisfied to know they didn’t have to have her in the house anymore. With that in mind, she took a smaller shift one afternoon, so she could get to the house in time to talk to them.

“Mother, could I speak with you and father for a moment?” Jihyo asked as soon as she got to the house.

“Is this important? We are planning to go out tonight.” The woman answers, not really stopping what she was doing.

“It is, ma’am. I need to talk to you both.” Jihyo starts to get a bitter taste in her mouth, it always happened when she was at that house.

“Fine, I’ll call you after i speak to your father. He is not home yet.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” Jihyo says and leaves for her room.

She immediately goes in to shower, Mr Park had scolded her too many times about not being presentable in front of him for her to not worry about it. Sure enough, just as she was finishing her makeup, she hears him arriving, some conversation with her mother, and then she hears the man greeting her sisters, before going into his own room. Not much later, her mother screams for her, and she goes on to her father’s office to try and bargain with them to let her leave.

“Come in.” A voice full of disdain orders her in.

“Sir, ma’am. I would like to talk to you both.” Jihyo says, sliding into the room, and bowing to the two figures on the other side of the table.

“This better be important. We have other things to attend to tonight.” Her father spits.

“It is, sir.”

“Are you, finally telling us you are ready to go live on your own or something?” Mrs Park asks, she had been bugging Jihyo to leave for years already.

“I am, ma’am.” Jihyo says, still not looking at them.

“Oh, you are? What are you waiting for, then?” Mrs Park continues.

“I would need my parent’s consent for it, ma’am.” 

“That’s easy, then. We are just going to disown you and then you can stop bothering us.” Mr Park responds curtly.

“You are disowning me, sir?” Jihyo never really expected anything from those people, but that was a new low.

“I am, it’s about time too. We don’t have time to deal with you, and we don’t need more problems to solve anymore. I’m sending in the papers tomorrow, you can move out over the weekend.” The man declares, not allowing for any more questioning and waves the girl out.

Jihyo bows to them again, leaving the office, she overhears Mrs Park telling the man that she couldn’t be happier about, finally, letting that bothersome girl go. She has known they wanted her gone, always have, but couldn’t really save face within their friend group (that had Nayeon’s and Mina’s parents in it) had they just thrown the girl out. Jihyo decided to just get her things and spend the night at the Ims, she calls Nayeon, who answers immediately, and asks if she could come over, which she never really needed to ask.

Getting there, she is ushered in by a worried looking Mr Im, who hugs her tight and gets her sat down on the living room, where Mrs Im is already waiting for her, and Nayeon comes in with a water bottle, sitting herself down beside Jihyo and getting the girl under a blanket with her.

“What happened, Jihyo-ah? Yeonnie told us you called asking to sleep over and you sounded like you were about to cry.” Mr Im starts the conversation.

“Well, I tried to tell my parents about the exchange program today.” She tries but a sob gets caught in her throat.

“What happened?” Mrs Im holds one of her hands comforting her and Nayeon is hugging her on the other side.

“I tried to tell them I needed their consent for me to travel, but fa- Mr Park just told me he would simply disown me because they didn’t need the trouble. And they said I should move out completely by the weekend.” Jihyo explains in a strained voice.

Mr Im looks like marching down to the Parks and just murdering them, Mrs Im stops him and Nayeon starts crying as soon as she heard the news.

“When did he say he was going to do it?” Mrs Im asks after convincing her husband to not get himself arrested.

“He said he would file the papers tomorrow. He showed me a file when he said that, so I think he has everything ready.” Jihyo’s voice is becoming more hollow by the minute.

“You are staying here. And we are moving you out tomorrow, as soon as you come back from school.” Mr Im declares.

“But I don’t want to bothe-”

“Don’t even think about it! You are going abroad soon, and there is no point in staying at that house anymore. We are coming with you tomorrow and getting you moved out. When is the house empty?” Mrs Im interrupts.

“I think it’s empty in the morning, Mr Park goes to work, the girls are off to school and Mrs Park goes grocery shopping, and out with her friends after.” Jihyo ponders, never having felt any real connection to those who were so quick to throw her out.

“Good, you are not going to school tomorrow, then. Nayeon, I’m sending your school a note and telling them Jihyo will be absent, so take it with you to the student office.” Mr Im decides, and Nayeon nods in agreement.

“But, shouldn’t I go to school?” Jihyo questions.

“Not tomorrow. Call your work as well, if needed, I’m calling the others to come and help as well. Moving you here has to be quick, I don’t want to give that woman the satisfaction of seeing you leave that damned house.” Mrs Im says and gets to her feet to fulfill her mission.

Since the girls were such great friends, and spent so much time at each other’s houses, their parents, sans the Parks, got to be really good friends with one another as well, they all had a secret pact that they would always care for Jihyo as their own, after seeing how she was treated by the Parks, and hearing from their daughters how the girl always tried to be a good kid, and still got mistreated and abused.

Nayeon, still ugly crying, took Jihyo to her room and made the girl get to sleep, before going back to the living room and contacting the girls about what happened, it took her asking her mother to tell the Hirais to not let Momo leave the house, else the girl would probably commit a crime that night. Mr Im said he would join her if she did. They were all worried, but Nayeon assured them Jihyo was safe and sleeping on her bed, then told them to try and get some rest, as they would talk about it the next day.

When the morning came, Nayeon left, unwillingly, to school, Mr Im left for work, as he had an important meeting in the morning, but promised to come back at lunch. Mrs Im managed to get the day off, and made sure Jihyo ate her absurdly big breakfast. Not much later, the bell rang, and in came Mrs Chou, Mr and Mrs Myoui, Mr Son and Mr Hirai, all who had managed to get some time off work to move the girl out of that house and in with the Ims. Jihyo cried a little, feeling her heart swell with gratitude and love for those families that took her in as one of their own.

Mrs Im had set camp by her window, watching the Parks for when the house would be empty, while Jihyo was retelling last night’s event to the other parents. They were all livid, and Mr Hirai, finally, understood why he was asked to hold Momo down when the girl was trying to leave the house. At some point, amidst their ranting, Mrs Im announced that Mr Park had left the house, and Jihyo said Mrs Park should be leaving soon after. True to the girl’s words, not even half an hour later, the woman did leave, looking expensive and with a bounce on her step, as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her. More like the weight of a daughter they didn’t want to ‘bother’ with.

They all headed out as soon as the woman’s cab left the street, Jihyo let them in and guided them to her storage room, they were, once again, enraged about what they were doing with the girl, but made quick work with packing everything to move the girl out. It wasn’t really difficult, as Jihyo never really owned much, but they made sure to leave the room barren, as if no one had ever set foot there. Mr Myoui wanted to write a note with a few chosen words to the Parks, but Jihyo managed to convince him otherwise. The girl just left a note asking them to let her know when the papers would be approved, with her phone number at the bottom.

After moving the girl to the extra bedroom at the Ims, Jihyo tahnked them all with a very deep and formal bow, followed by very tight hugs on each of them. It was barely past two when Mr Im got back home, surprised to find them all already done, Jihyo made sure to thank him properly as well, and said she should go to work after all. She needed to talk to her manager about leaving soon, and they had already moved her out anyways. The parents agreed, she actually did need to formalize her resignation and train whoever would replace her.

Mrs Im suggested they just do a barbecue party that night, as they were almost all there already, and it was hard for them to meet up like that, everyone agreed and Mrs Myoui shot a message to the absent parents, telling them of the evening’s plans. Mr Son remembered to tell the girls, and messaged Chaeyoung to tell the others and have everyone over.

Back in school, Nayeon arrived almost an hour early,and the girls were already waiting for her, all with very worried expressions. She ushered them all inside, they had already dropped their things on the respective classrooms, so all just accompanied the eldest to do the same and headed to the garden beside the student council building, the one nobody really used or passed by in the morning, as it was off everyone’s route.

“What happened? Where is she?” Momo spits as soon as they arrive.

“Let’s sit first? Come here, love.” Nayeon tries to calm her girlfriend down.

“So, what is this ‘Jihyo got kicked out’ about?” Mina asks in a hostile, yet calm manner.

“She called me last night asking to sleep over, not like she had to ask, but anyways, I tell her to just come, and get downstairs to tell my parents she was coming and she sounded like she was in trouble.” Nayeon explains. “So, she comes over, and tells us she was trying to tell her parents about the exchange program, she needed their permission to go and all. But, then, she said they would just disown her because she was a bother and they didn’t want to be troubled.”

“And where is she right now?” Tzuyu, for the first time, sounds hostile.

“She is at my house. My mom said she should stay there and mom would have all our parents help move Jihyo out when the Parks were away. Something about not giving them the satisfaction of seeing her leave.”

“Oh, dad said he was going to your place this morning, that must be it.” Chaeyoung chimes in, trying to break the tense mood.

“Mom and Dad said the same thing.” Mina adds.

“They must be there right now, waiting for the Parks to leave so they can go in and get Jihyo’s things out.” Nayeon tries a chuckle that came out too dry.

“Then she is in great hands. We should head to Yeonnie’s after anyways.” Momo says, effectively breaking the tension.

They talked a bit more, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu had to go back to middle school and Nayeon had to hand in the note for Jihyo’s absence, so the three went back first, leaving the rest talking a bit more. Everything was fine until lunch, when a certain couple showed up and none of the girls really wanted to have to deal with them.

“Hey girls, has anyone seen Jihyo today?” Sana greets as she sits down, followed by Jeongyeon.

“Oh, hey. She didn’t come today.” Mina answers curtly between chews.

Both look puzzled and a bit worried about the news, and Jeongyeon is the one to ask first.

“Do you guys know why she didn’t come?” 

“She had some personal business to attend to, and couldn’t come in today. She is fine, and should be here tomorrow, though.” Chaeyoung answers calmly, dismissing the subject.

Neither Jeongyeon nor Sana were completely satisfied with the answer, but understood that was all they were getting. They ate and made small talk, until the whole group dismissed themselves about fifteen minutes before the bell. The couple remained at the cafeteria, and decided they were going to stop by Jeongyeon and Jihyo’s workplace later.

Their plan would have worked, had their target not been sent back early to handle her personal issues, that nobody seemed willing to tell them about. Jihyo's decision to head to work early paid off, without her even knowing. 

She went to work and asked to talk to her manager, telling the woman everything that happened and about her leaving soon. Her manager had always had a soft spot for the girl, and was very excited about the news. Although she was infuriated with the Parks, she was very excited about Jihyo being given the opportunity to better her talents, and happy the girl was freed from those people. 

Jihyo, though, asked her manager to keep everything a secret, she didn't want the Parks to catch word of anything she was doing, to which, the woman agreed easily, and decided to send her back for the day (with full intention on clocking the girl in and out so she would still get paid). 

And that's where Jeongyeon and Sana's plan failed. Once they arrived, Jeong spotted the manager behind the counter, and dragged Sana along, they enquired about Jihyo, only to get the same vague answer and no further explanation on the matter. Both just resigned by then, and decided they would just ask the girl herself tomorrow.


	15. 15

The parent group was having a very heated discussion, the ones that couldn’t get off work had arrived and they were about to fight over who would get to adopt Jihyo into their household. The Myouis argued they should have her, as Mina was the first one to befriend the girl, but got countered by the Ims saying Nayeon befriended both of them on the same day. The Sons said they should be the ones, but the Chous reasoned Chaeyoung and Momo didn’t even like Jihyo at the beginning, which got the Hirais out as well.

The Chous were dismissed as well, when the Hirais pointed they already had two daughters. That argument dismissed the Sons, Myouis, Chous and the Hirais themselves, as all had two kids, leaving the Ims with the upper hand, that had them grasping at the chance and making their case. The girls and Jeonghoon (Chaeyoung’s younger brother) arrived at some point and were over-entertained about the situation, going as far as making some popcorn to munch on while they watched.

After almost two hours, though, it was time to step in and have the discussion end, Jihyo had messaged the group saying she was on her way home, and the fight over who would be the family adopting her should, probably, stop before the girl came back. With that in mind, Nayeon got ready to call for their attention, she was the loudest one and th more likely to be heard.

“JIHYO JUST TOLD US SHE IS COMING BACK AND YOU SHOULD STOP BEFORE SHE GETS HERE.” It worked, they all were startled a little, but quickly understood that their conversation should be put on hold.

“When did you all get here?” Mrs Hirai asked, with a confused expression Momo inherited to a T.

“About two hours ago. We were planning on keeping quiet and watching, but Jihyo just sent us a group message saying she was coming back.” Chaeyoung explains.

“And what is Jeonghoon doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be training late today?” Mrs Son asks, also very confused.

“I was, but the cheerleaders got some beef with the lacrosse team, something about the cheerleading vice-captain being dumped, and flooded the field. With that, us from the track and field and the football team just got sent home.” The boy explains, amusement very clear in his voice.

“Oh, and who dumped who?” Mr Myoui, always the gossiper, took interest in the happenings.

Jeonghoon began telling the gossip group about the sports drama he got caught in the middle of, said group consisted of Mina, Mr Myoui, all the Hirais, Tzuyu and Mr Chou. The rest just gave up and began organizing for the barbecue they intended to do. Nayeon and Mrs Myoui began on the side dishes, Mr Im, Mrs Chou and Chaeyoung were sent out to get the meat and the groceries they needed, Mrs Im went out to light up the barbecue pit, and Mr and Mrs Son said they would prepare the meat when it arrived, but made themselves busy helping around.

When Jihyo got back, she could hear some very loud ruckus, chuckled to herself thinking she understood exactly where her friends got their hyperness from. Getting in, she was faced with Jeonghoon dramatically telling a very invested group something about a lacrosse player and a cheerleading vice-captain. They did stop a little to greet her, but soon went back to whatever was being told, so Jihyo headed to the kitchen, to find another group that was, also, very invested in making food for an army. They also greeted her cheerily but were quick to get back to their activities.

Jihyo just makes her way upstairs to change and come back down to see if she could help with something, but, then, her phone beeps, she received a message from a new number. Opening it, her throat tightens a little bit, not that she didn’t expect it, but it still doesn’t sit well with her, she just shrugged the feeling off, they were nothing to her anymore. The message read ‘Don’t show up anymore, the paperwork went through.’ the girl knew who it came from, she was freed, but it felt a little lonely even though all those people downstairs were there for her.

As she returns, Nayeon noticed a slight change on behaviour, so she just excused herself and dragged Jihyo out back before anyone else noticed, Mina and Tzuyu did, but they knew everyone would hear about it, eventually, so just left Nayeon to take care of the situation. 

“What’s wrong?” Nayeon asks in a very serious tone, as soon as they are out of the house.

“I got this message just now. Guess I’m on my own, now.” Jihyo chuckles dryly, showing the older one the text on her phone.

Nayeon reads it over and just takes Jihyo into a tight hug, muttering reassurances and asking how the girl was feeling. The younger girl was unbelievably fine with it all, it hit her that, what she really felt, was a hint of betrayal, but nothing really far that. Sure, the people who were supposed to have her back no matter what just threw her away with the morning trash, but they were always really forward in letting her know she wasn’t welcome, nor was she ever really wanted in that house.

Mrs Im went out to check the grill, and saw her daughter had been crying and was hugging Jihyo, who looked dead inside, so, she did what was only logical, she dismissed everything and marched to the two girls, catching both in her arms and asked what had happened. Jihyo explained she just got notice she was officially disowned, and Nayeon started crying again. That was what it took for Mrs Im’s resolve to strengthen and get her to make the final decision on the matter. The woman asked if it was alright for Jihyo to tell everyone about it, the girl agreed, so they went back inside.

“We are the ones who are going to adopt her, no arguing.” Mrs Im declared as soon as Jihyo finished telling everyone about the news.

The woman looked fierce, like she would murder anyone who dared question her at that point. That other parents talked amongst themselves and relented, the Ims were a great family, and Nayeon had been ever so vocal about wanting a sibling, so they knew Jihyo would be the princess of that household. That, and Mrs Myoui, Momo and Mr Son were legitimately scared at that moment, so they all opted to make Park Jihyo become Im Jihyo, and live to pamper the girl another day.

Nayeon was ecstatic, for lack of better word, and Jihyo was still processing what had just happened. She seemed to have shut down, so somebody sat her down at the kitchen table to get her out of the way and they all just proceeded to do whatever they were doing. Laughing every time they passed by the girl, who was still stunned, Jihyo, on the other hand, was still trying to understand what was happening. It’s not everyday that one gets a family just like that.

The following days were hectic, to say the least, Mr and Mrs Im had to rush the papers for jihyo’s adoption, as the deadline for the exchange program paperwork to be delivered was approaching fast. Mrs Seungwan advised them to submit everything and have Jihyo sign off by herself, along with the adoption papers they already had, to guarantee she would have the spot and re-send everything again later, or Jihyo might not really make it in time. And that’s what they did.

Everyone was more than surprised when Jihyo told them she already had enough money for moving and her first year there, Mrs Im doubted a little, but almost fainted when she saw the girl’s account balance (Jihyo had been smart enough to ask Mrs Seungwan to hold on to the paychecks for her until she could be freed from the Parks, or she would have lost everything). Mr Im just said he was paying for the tickets, at least, and wasn’t taking any objections, so Jihyo just let him and decided to take her new parents and sister to a fancy dinner before she left.


	16. 16

The due date was rapidly approaching, Jihyo had already stopped working, her farewell party was held on a saturday morning, she had asked her manager to not mention it to Jeongyeon as the girl would be problematic to handle, and Jihyo expressed her will to leave quietly. As the two never really interacted that much, the manager never saw anything wrong with agreeing. Jihyo also told her coworkers to not mention anything about her leaving.

At school, they had received all the paperwork and sent out all the documents needed for the transference, so they were already very lenient with the girl’s attendance, and school activities, ergo, whenever needed, Jihyo would just not go to class and send Nayeon with a note explaining why to the student office. For Jeongyeon and Sana, though, it was getting weirder and weirder. They weren’t being told anything, even though they would spend lunch with the girls everyday, or even ask around about it, but most didn’t know, and those who knew weren’t talking.

There was a feeling of dread on the pit of their stomachs, like something bad was about to happen, but none could really explain what it was, or where it came from. Sana, the expressive person she was, had been unusually quiet and tamed, Jeongyeon, who hated most type of physical contact, had become clingy, as if she needed to be held by Sana to feel calmer. It still irked the girls, but Jihyo had assured them it was all alright, she would be leaving soon and it would all be in the past.

They agreed, it was more important for them to spend Jihyo’s last moments happily, not worrying about unnecessary things. And the girl was right, it was just their first year of highschool, nothing was definitive, and nothing was real life, not for her anyways, Jihyo never really had a life fitting for a kid, and was heading out to fend for herself once again. With that thought, nobody really paid much attention to the two people who were desperately trying to understand what was happening.

The last day Jihyo would be around came faster than anyone hoped, everyone was a bit blue about it, but Nayeon was taking it the hardest, you can’t blame her, she finally got a little sister just to have go away right after, good thing Momo was holding up pretty well for both of them. The Ims were going with Jihyo to have the girl installed properly and to tour her new school, more to assure themselves their new daughter was going to be okay, and give Nayeon some peace of mind as well.

The Im girls went to school like normal, Nayeon would be absent for the next two days and Jihyo refused to let her miss classes more than needed. The group was a bit down, but they felt really happy about it at the same time. Their parents sent out notes to the school, and called in later on, asking for all to be excused from their classes after lunch. The Myouis were throwing a farewell lunch for Jihyo and demanded all to be present, therefore, none really had much with them nor bothered to run to the cafeteria that day.

Once they were dismissed for lunch period, Nayeon was crying again and clinging to Jihyo (who was begging Momo to take her sister at that point), and a rather thick string of snot was dangerously hanging from the eldest nose, making Momo politely refuse to intervene with the ‘sisters bonding moment’ as she put it. That sneaky brat. Arriving at the gate, the two youngest were already waiting, and Tzuyu was as deplorable as Nayeon, Chae was having a very hard time trying to control her girlfriend, who clung to Jihyo’s other side as soon as she was close enough. Jihyo just gave up and accepted she would get to Mina’s covered in snot.

The lunch was a bit tearful, everyone giving their best wishes for Jihyo, telling her she should call as soon as she arrived, and that she should tell them if there was any problem, they would be there on the next flight. It couldn’t be stretched too long, though, the Im family had a late night flight to catch. They said their goodbyes, Jihyo promised she would be back for the older group graduation, in three years, and also for the youngest ones in four. Until then, they would have to make do with video calling and messaging, some were already making plans to go visit the girl over vacations.

The ride home was filled with Nayeon’s soft sniffles, so was the one to the airport, but the giddiness was present in the entire family, and Jihyo was elated about the turn her life took in the last few months. She did decide to have a family fancy dinner, but their days had been so hectic they didn’t really do it, so, she figured she would do that before they returned to korea, and it would be a good way to send her family off. Her family, she couldn’t put into words how grateful she will always be, for being given a chance to call them that.

The weekend went by too fast, the Im family toured Jihyo’s school, signed her up for her classes, that should start in two weeks, toured the city, as much as they could, and Jihyo made sure to take them to dinner. When it was time to go home, Nayeon was bawling her eyes out, clutching the letters Jihyo wrote for her and the one for their friends (not to be shown to Sana and Jeongyeon), mama and papa Im had to physically drag their eldest into the boarding area, as Jihyo had insisted to take them to the airport (luckily her dorm-head, a very nice college student named Francis, agreed to go with her so he could take her home).

Jihyo felt the pang of loneliness as soon as her family passed through security, Francis bought her some ice cream on their way back, and she felt a little better. She knew she would be alone for the ride all along, but now she had people she could call her parents, an older sister, friends that really wanted her around, missing them would be a lot of work. 

“You hanging in there, kiddo?!” Francis tries to make some small talk, the subway ride would take a while.

“I-I’m alri-ght.” Jihyo manages with a small smile, she is still not secure enough with her english.

“That’s better. You wanna talk? Like, about yourself a little?” He seems fairly interested.

“No-no, thank you. Can I-I just e-eat my i-i-ice cream, please?”

“Sure you can. Just come to me if you need anything, alright? I’ll always listen, no matter what.” Francis is chirpy, and pats Jihyo’s head lightly, sitting up again and pulling his phone out.

They make small talk here and there, Jihyo manages to make her ice cream last the entire ride, Francis, at some point, gave her one of his earphones and showed her some of his favorite songs, she liked them and asked him to send her the playlist later. By the time they get back to the dorm, reality hits a bit harder than expected, and Jihyo knows she can barely wait until her family comes to visit.

The girl decides it would be better to just go to sleep, she had to go to orientation the next morning, classes had already started and she had two weeks to catch up to the program, not much of a problem, as her work for the basic course the took back in Korea were accepted, so she just had to catch up with the music program. Francis had been a sweetheart from the moment they all stepped into the building, so she knew he was, at the very least, approachable.

The rest of the Im family, on the other hand, wasn’t faring so well, Nayeon was very vocal and very much clear about how this parting was upsetting her. Mama and papa Im were trying to calm their eldest daughter down, and soothe each other while at it. They, as much as the other parents, had taken a very strong affection towards the girl, they saw, day by day, how Jihyo withered and faded, they also had heard how the Parks talked about their daughter, the Myouis and the Chous (who were in the same neighbourhood group) also acquired a thirst for revenge about it.

So, with a mission, they were all set to have the Parks pay for what they did to Jihyo. Not like anyone would do anything drastic, losing their credibility would be more than enough, it was only needed for them to move away, very far away. That and mamas Myoui and Hirai, and papa Chou were itching to do something about the Parks, having them move out was the lightest the Ims could come up with to quench their thirst. And so they did.

It all began with the very first neighborhood meeting after Jihyo went abroad. Some neighbours were talking, not so coincidentally, mama Myoui was in the same group as the Park couple. Mrs Park was talking big about how they had more money to spare lately, and how she could, finally, have the crafts room she always wanted. Mama Myoui asked about her kids, to which mrs Park said they were all fine, so, Myoui proceeded to ask about each kid especifically, and, when only hearing about two, asked about the eldest.

Everyone knew the Parks had three girls, so that sparked everyone else’s curiosity, and mrs Park said she only had two, but papa Chou had joined the conversation and made sure to not let the couple off the hook. By the end of the meeting, rumors had already spread with speculations about the eldest Park kid. Some were guessing the girl ran away, others were saying that wasn’t the case, two other couples that lived on the same street, the Chens and the Lees said they saw a lot of people moving the girl’s things to the Ims, and that the Chous and the Myouis were there as well.

Papa Im just let slip he had a new daughter and they all left it at that, allowing the rumors to spread like wildfire through their community. They were all in a fairly good neighborhood, where everyone was well off, enough to have influence over the background from whoever would move out of there. The whole point of staining the Parks reputation was having them not be able to move into another influential area ever again. Mama Myoui, Hirai and papa Chou were that protective of their cubs, and that meant all of their girls as a whole.

It would eventually take little over a year for the Parks to move out, but the Ims threw a party for their neighborhood to celebrate, not that they would reveal the real reason of the celebration to anyone, but nobody was really interested anyways. It was simply said they were celebrating their youngest daughter and everybody was more than glad to cheer them on.


	17. 17

Nayeon had disappeared two days before the weekend, and Jihyo had been in and out of school for a while, the teachers didn’t seem to mind that so much, something was going on and Sana was dead set on finding out what it was. Jeongyeon is the reserved one, she would rather keep her worries to herself and not let anyone into her troubles, this made Sana develop a skill to know whenever her girlfriend wasn’t well. The friday after Nayeon and Jihyo didn’t show up was when she had enough, Jeongyeon had been moping around and that was irritating.

A moping Jeongyeon was also a bratty Jeongyeon, and Sana was absolutely NOT about to put up with that, especially when she knew why that was happening. So, confrontation it was, try and rip out the bandaid and, either suffer already or get some peace of mind, that was going to be challenging, Jeong avoided her problems like the plague, so Sana decided to go and pick her up from work to have a sleepover at the girl’s house.

Getting there, Sana was greeted by a puzzling sight, Jeongyeon and her manager were side by side behind the counter but both looked like they were about to rip each other’s throat out with their teeth. That was a new development, but troubling nonetheless, Jeongyeon was never the one to really get angry at someone to that level, so Sana was worried instantly. About half an hour later, Jeong was off and incredibly grumpy, great she would be even more of a brat.

“Let’s go, yeah?” Sana says in the most soothing voice she had.

Jeongyeon nods and they head out, but the girl needed to calm down before they got to her house, otherwise she wouldn’t talk at all. So, Sana guided them to the park near the Yoo house and sat Jeongyeon down before going to nearest convenience store for some ice cream, that always seemed to help Jeongyeon’s mood to improve. So ice cream it was.

“Ready to talk about it?” Sana tries, voice gentle.

“I found out Jihyo quit.” Jeongyeon answers dejected.

“Oh, when?”

“A couple of weeks ago, actually.”

“That’s sad. I was hoping to run into her somewhere.” Sana gets a bit dejected as well.

“I know, but it seems like she asked our manager to not mention it to anyone. Looks like only the people that worked her shift knew, and they were asked to not mention it as well.” Jeongyeon further explains.

“Maybe something happened? We could try to ask the girls on monday?” Sana tries, seeing Jeongyeon’s mood was getting sour again.

“Do you think they would tell us? I always feel like they are hiding things from us. I know they are all really nice and all, but I always feel like there is something they never told us.”

“I know what you are talking about. I feel the same, like there is something they know about us that we don’t. Still, I think they would tell us about this.”

“We will ask monday, then. Are you spending the night?”

“Sure am. You have been down lately, cuddles are needed.” 

Jeongyeon just chuckles, shakes her head, finishes her ice cream and takes Sana’s hand to get them home. There was really no point worrying about it right then, and why would she not pay attention to her girlfriend, that would just be dumb. Sana was a sweetheart, and completed Jeongyeon in ways the older one couldn’t even begin to grasp, but there was always something missing, and it seemed like that was something both felt. Maybe it was time to talk about that.

Getting home, Jeongyeon brings Sana to the kitchen, where her mother and sisters were at that time of day. They all greet each other, Jeongyeon’s eldest sister had taken a very strong liking to Sana ever since they spent some time together right after her and Jeongyeon got together. The couple had been going very well for kids their age, and, despite having clashing personalities, were very much in tune with each other, maybe it was the soulmate effect. 

Sana’s parents were soulmates, but Jeongyeon’s weren’t, the Yoos had gotten together in college, both aiming to have their own culinary business, her mother wanted a bakery and her father a restaurant. Mr Yoo’s flower never really bloomed, but mrs Yoo had when she was at a school trip and only noticed it had happened at night when she went to shower. The Yoo kids grew up knowing true love was possible if one dedicated themselves, despite being destined to another. The entire family was pleasantly surprised when Jeongyeon got home with both her buds bloomed, saying she found her soulmate and they became friends.

The Minatozaki family, on the other hand, believed the bond of soulmates was the ultimate force of love, mr and mrs Minatozaki had a very clichèd anime meeting, mrs Minatozaki was walking to school with her friends when, at a corner, a very late mr Minatozaki bumped her. Mrs Minatozaki would have been raging, was it not for her flower blooming on her shin at the corner of her eye, when she tried to look at the rushing boy. Mr Minatozaki had been panicking, when the girl he had bumped let out a giggle, handed him a folded paper and left with her friends, all before he could get a grip and process what happened.

All of that overplayed love scenario made Sana a hopeless romantic, who, very firmly, believed it was very important to make your soulmate really feel like the most important person on your life, because, well, they were. And this old school love Sana always showed for Jeongyeon had the whole Yoo family swooped off their feet, they were always amazed by how such a young girl could muster those mature displays of affection…. Another reason Jeongyeon was completely at her mercy, not that it would ever be admitted to anyone.


	18. 18

Dinner with the Yoos was always a pleasure for Sana, they were a lovely family, and she learned a lot with the parents about relationships, things her parents could never really teach her, as they had their soulmate with them almost all their lives. It became a secret interest for her to learn and understand how love worked if you didn’t have your destined one. Shut up, she grew up to be sappy, blame her parents.

The girl was laying down on Jeongyeon’s bed, the other had gone down to get them some coffee and whatever pastries Jeong’s middle sister was experimenting that day. Evenings at the Yoos were always calm, despite having three girls whose favorite sport was to get on each others nerves, Sana only ever found it endearing, being an only child and all. She perks up when she smells chocolate when Jeongyeon comes into the room, Seungyeon’s chocolate treats were always the best (don’t tell mrs Minatozaki).

“Why do you always look so happy whenever it’s chocolate?” Jeongyeon asks amused.

“Seungyeon unnie’s chocolate creations are always the best!” Sana chirps happily and goes on to eat whatever it was.

“You make it really hard, you know?!” Jeongyeon asks with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Oh, we can’t have that. What am I doing, though?” Sana gets the hint.

“You are in my room, wearing my hoodie you stole a few weeks ago and refuses to return, being adorable and seducing me with that smile of yours. It’s hard to not kiss you right now.” Jeongyeon declares with the most greasy voice she could muster, making herself cringe a little.

“Okay, and that is my cue to go.” Sana answers with a cold shiver running down her spine and making to get up.

“NO, wait, I’m sorry. I promise to never do that again.”

“Good, because I will not hesitate to dump your ass if you try any of that, E V E R again.”

“I regret everything. It made my own stomach turn.”

“You ruined Seungyeon unnie’s chocolate scone, I’m definitely telling.”

“Please don’t, she won’t ever let me hear the end of it.”

“Too late, I’m not enjoying this as much as I should.”

They keep the playful banter and for the rest of the night, at some point, Sana does tell Seungyeon, who runs to her youngest sister’s room and tackles down said girl and they wrestle for a while, Jeongyeon loses, obviously, she’s always been a wimp, not that Sana would ever mind it. By the end of the night, they just decide to shower and cuddle in Jeongyeon’s bed for movies until they sleep. 

“Jeong?”

The other hums in acknowledgement but doesn’t really stop watching the movie.

“I know we should wait to talk about this tomorrow, and we already said we would ask on monday, but I have to talk about it.”

“You are still bothered by Jihyo, aren’t you?” Jeongyeon asks, leaving the movie and shuffling to face Sana without having to release her.

“I am. I mean, you feel it too, don’t you?! There is something about her, and the others seem to know what it is. Everytime I see her, there’s that attraction? I don’t know.”

“I understand, I feel the same way, but I can’t explain why.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?” Sana protested.

“Of course it does, but what can we really do about it?” Jeongyeon tries to calm the girl down.

“We could talk to her? Or try. Maybe take her out with us sometime?”

“You are suggesting we try to date her?” Jeongyeon chuckles.

“Something like that, but not exactly. Maybe spend some time with her away from the group? They are very protective.”

“That, they certainly are. But Sana?” The girl hums. “I’m trying to spend some time with my girlfriend right now.”

The girl just giggles in Jeongyeon’s arms and they go back to their movie, before they know it, both have fallen asleep and saturday morning came with Jeongyeon’s alarm telling them it was time for the girl to get to work, Sana had been announced to be abducted by Jeongyeon’s sisters that day, so they both got up lazily to get ready for their very tiring day.


	19. 19

“Do you think we should try to talk to them during class?”

“It won’t work, you know that.”

“But I have to know!”

“Sana, it will be useless, let’s just wait until lunch time like we agreed. Now go in, I still have to get to my classes.”

The couple was talking, read: Jeongyeon was trying to talk Sana out of doing it, about how to approach the girls and ask what was happening. They had agreed to just wait until lunch time, so everyone would be gathered in the same place, but the younger one was having trouble containing herself. It was expected, but still….

Before Sana could protest anymore, the five minute bell rang, and that was Jeongyeon’s cue to get to her own classroom. Classes went as well as one could expect, fast enough for Jeongyeon and too slow for Sana, but their real challenge was lunch time anyhow. Both were hesitating to enter the cafeteria, but it’s been almost five minutes, and lunch break would be over before they knew it. So, Jeongyeon marches forward, a death grip on Sana’s hand, they get whatever to eat (not like they were worried about it right then), and head to the group’s table.

“Sana, Jeongyeon! Are you two alright?” Momo greets, being the first one to notice the couple approaching.

“You two look nervous, what’s up?” Chaeyoung asks.

None of them look any different from any other day, despite the fact that Jihyo is nowhere to be seen, and Nayeon looks a bit sleepy, then again, Momo and her usually look sleepy. Jeongyeon decides to take a seat first, and has to pull Sana down slightly so the girl could, at least, move from where she was standing.

“We have something to talk to you guys about.” Sana blurts out, incapable of holding herself back anymore.

“Oh, what can we help you guys with, then?” Mina asks, her calm voice snapping the group into attention.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Jihyo to get here? Did she even come to class?” Jeongyeon questions.

“Oh, right. Don’t worry about her, but do tell, what can do for you?” Nayeon dismisses.

“Jihyo.” Sana says simply.

“What about her?” Nayeon gets defensive, she wasn’t about to let anyone get to her little sister.

“She means to ask if there’s any problem with Jihyo?” Momo is trying to calm Nayeon down.

“Yes.”  
“No.”

Both answer at the same time. Jeongyeon was trying to go the roundabout way, Sana was just after direct answers. The girls tense up instantly, and the other two could feel the tension rising, making Jeong decide to drop the formalities and be direct like Sana.

“Okay? Which is it?” Mina chuckles.

“Fine, we have a problem. Not really a problem, but there is something.” Jeongyeon lets out in a frustrated huff.

“Alright, tell us, then.” Momo urges.

“We think you guys are too protective of her and we want to know why. Also, we want to talk to her and see if we could figure out this weird feeling we have whenever we are near her.” Sana lets it all out, looking each one in the eyes.

“We can help with half of that. But Nayeon should explain the other half.” Chaeyoung decides. “Who wants to start?”

“I’ll do it. Well, Jihyo is very special to all of us, and we all love her very much. The thing is, her previous situation was not very good, and we grew to be very protective of her.” Mina explains.

“What situation? Shouldn’t we be hearing this from her?” Jeongyeon gets impatient.

“Perhaps, but there is where Nayeon comes in, we think it would be better for her to be the one to explain.” Chaeyoung tries to calm everyone down.

“What’s up, then?” Sana asks, setting her gaze upon Nayeon, who sighs and starts talking.

“Jihyo was being abused by her family her whole life. She was starved and mistreated by her parents, and everything she had was taken by her sisters. We learned that a bit late, but none of us was about to leave her alone after that. We talked to all our parents about her as well, so she would always have a place to go whenever she needed.” Nayeon has never sounded more serious.

“And why are you crying?” Mina asks the couple, who have tears running down their cheeks.

“Just keep talking, please?” Sana asks, voice small and cracking.

“If you insist.” Nayeon sighs. “After we knew how she was surviving and everything that was happening at that house, we worked really hard to crack her and let us in. Our parents took her in like their own as well, they all got to know her and like her very much. So, yes, we are very protective of Jihyo. No, we won’t be making it easy for anyone to approach her just like that.”

“We understand, thank you for telling us.” Jeongyeon’s voice is barely above a whisper.

They just get up, not really having eaten anything, but no appetite was left either. Both didn’t talk for the rest of lunch period, just went to a bathroom to try and look presentable enough to get through the rest of their classes. Jeongyeon calls in sick, and her manager just tells her to rest well, as her voice was horrible. Sana takes her girlfriend to her classroom, promising to come get her as soon as they are dismissed.

People may see Jeongyeon as the stronger one, but the truth is very far from that. Sana seems to wear her heart on her sleeve, but she is a very strong one, never held herself back on showing love, but hasn’t stepped down when she needed to show strength either. Jeongyeon was not that expressive, she would show her love in the little things, walking on the outer side of the sidewalk, pulling Sana’s chair for her to sit, cutting the meat for her, but she was the one to open her heart too easily.

Sana was worried, she knew Jeongyeon was very hurt by what they just found out. The unexplainable affection they had towards Jihyo was something, but knowing the girl was going through all that, they couldn’t really be wary of the group’s protective ways. The couple themselves were worried, but nothing they couldn’t really do much, Sana thought of visiting Jihyo’s house, maybe get to talk to her personally, so she grabbed Jeongyeon headed to her house first, changed and dragged the other to the Yoos to do the same.

It wasn’t very easy to track down where the Parks lived, but Sana knew enough people to find out. When they were close to their destination, they saw two very familiar faces a few houses before their destination, so Jeongyeon decided to stop by. Nayeon and Momo were sitting on the Ims’ porch, in a swing chair and looking like they were studying, judging by the books and papers scattered. It was a warm day, studying outside was a good idea.

“Hey, what are you guys doing around here?” Momo greets.

“We thought about going to Jihyo’s place and try to talk to her, but I didn’t know you lived so close to her.” Jeongyeon answers, gesturing to both girls, not knowing whose house that was.

“Then you came to the right place.” Momo answers cheerily.

“What do you mean? I heard her house was that one.” Sana questions, pointing at the Parks’ house.

“That would be correct a few months ago, but you did come to the right place today. You won’t be talking to Jihyo, though.” Nayeon answers, having finished writing whatever it was on her notes.

“What?” Both visitors ask at the same time.

Momo lets out a chuckle before nudging Nayeon to answer the very confused girls.

“You see, my parents adopted Jihyo, she is my little sister now.” Nayeon has a slightly amused grin she tries to suppress, only Momo noticed, though.

“What? How? What?” Sana stammers.

“You asked that already. But, for some personal reasons, my parents adopted Jihyo. This is her house, you came to the right place.” Nayeon tries really hard to not smile.

“So we can talk to her?” Jeongyeon tries, finally speaking.

“That you can’t.” Momo answers this time.

“And why not? We just want to talk.” Sana get a bit frustrated.

“Because she is not here.” Momo is the one trying not to look amused now.

“What do you mean?” Jeongyeon also gets frustrated.

“She got a scholarship overseas. She went abroad to study music, so you can’t really talk to her.” Nayeon, finally, let’s the cat out of the bag.

“She moved? But we-” Jeongyeon chokes up.

“Hey, come have a seat. Don’t cry.” Nayeon says, having the couple sit down on the couch at the porch.

Momo goes inside for some water and tissues, Nayeon quickly puts away the papers they were working on, before they fly away. Sana, always the support Jeongyeon needed, took her girlfriend’s hand and guided both to sit down, just as Momo had come back out. They took the water, drank a little bit and tried to compose themselves before speaking again, all the while, Nayeon and Momo were trying to understand what was happening.

“Are you two alright there? Think you can tell us what’s wrong?” Nayeon tries.

“I don’t know how to begin.” Sana begins. “It’s- There’s something about Jihyo. And I just got really sad when you told us she’s gone.”

“I was hoping to talk to her and ask why she doesn’t like us, but she’s gone.” Jeongyeon manages between sobs.

“Now, don’t say that. Why do you think she doesn’t like you?” Momo soothes them.

“You guys don’t like us either. Everytime we come around, you all seem like you are hiding something about us. And I feel like we aren’t very welcome.” Jeongyeon continues.

“To be fair, we told you about Jihyo and she was particularly weak on the day you fell on her.” Nayeon says looking at Sana, then proceeds. “And she was bleeding, we went full-on mama bear mode as soon as we saw her. I know it might have looked like we just didn’t like you, but we are extremely protective of her.”

“NOW we know that. But it hurt to feel unwelcome and not know why.” Jeongyeon bites a bit.

“Are you going to be a good girl and be polite or do I have to kick your ass? Talk to my girlfriend like that again and you are done for.” Momo reminds them in a weirdly gentle tone. “But, the thing with Jihyo, she was never very good with people.”

“Mina was her first friend, really. She had spent most of her life by herself, so she never welcomes anyone with open arms. We still don’t know how Mina got her to talk, none of them will tell us, and I only managed because Mina was there.” Nayeon continues, a little lie was needed.

“So none of you hates us?” Sana asks in a very small voice.

“Not at all. We do have our reservations, but there is really no reason for us to hate you. We maybe get a bit annoyed when you talk too much, but that’s it.” Nayeon answers, gesturing to Sana on the last part.

“But, did we do something wrong?” Jeongyeon questions.

“What do you mean?” Momo looks honestly confused.

“I have this feeling, that there is something about us you all don’t like, and we don’t even know what. Like, I know the accident made you protective and all, but still. Even Chaeng is secretive about something, like we were never that close, but still.” Jeong further explains.

“Well, let me put it this way.” Nayeon explains. “We know a lot of things, about Jihyo, about ourselves, about the relations we have with each other, that you two aren’t going to know about, because there are things we aren’t going to share. There are other things we know that are not ours to share. So you two will, likely, never get to know everything, because it’s private.”

“I understand.” Sana says, holding Jeongyeon’s hand. “WE understand. Now we do, anyways. But I still want to be friends with you guys, and, maybe, I’m going to be frustrated at times, but I promise to try and understand things better. Just don’t shut us out.”

“We never really did, our thing with Jihyo will always be ours to know, but if you two can accept that you will never really know everything about us, then we are fine.” Momo assures them.

“We will try, thank you. I think we should go now. See you tomorrow?” Jeongyeon says, a bit dejected.

“Sure we will. Try to cheer up a little, alright?” Nayeon waves them goodbye.

Jeongyeon and Sana wave leave the Ims’ house feeling a lot better and much worse at the same time. They got answers, but not the ones they wanted. Sure, the girls were right, and most of what they wanted to know should be told by Jihyo herself, that didn’t mean the lack of information didn’t leave them frustrated. It was a monday, they would have the entire week to try and learn more about everyone anyways.

When she left Sana at her house, Jeongyeon suggested they should be patient and try to carve their way into the group, they understood, now, that these girls wouldn’t be easy to befriend, and that might just make them more worth it. Too bad the girl they were after was unavailable for who knows how long.


	20. 20

“Spill.” 

Jeongyeon was sitting at her backyard, she had been moping around ever since she found out about Jihyo, Sana didn’t seem to be doing much better, but always handled these things with much more poise. Still, the Yoo sisters got fed up with their little one and decided it was time to cut it out.

“Sujin unnie.” Jeongyeon is a bit surprised, the middle Yoo was never the confrontational one.

“Enough is enough, now spill.” 

“What are y-”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Jeongyeon. This moping around has gone on long enough, even Sana seems down lately. Now spill it out.” Sujin is very intimidating when she gets serious.

“Fine, but don’t tell Seungyeon unnie.”

“No promises, but I’ll try.” The older one offers a warm smile.

“Alright, first, know that I love Sana and this is something I talked to her about already. Also, please don’t tell.”

“Fine, just get to it.”

“So, there is this girl, she’s called Par- Im Jihyo, we met at school, and happened to work on the same place. And there is something about her that draws me in, I have no idea what it is, but I can’t seem to just not think about her. But her friends are all too protective and never seem to let anyone too close to her.”

“Whoa there, casanova. You pinning for another girl when you date Sana?”

“It’s not like that, and Sana feels like this too. In fact, she was the one to bring it up first.”

“So, these friends of her, are they keeping her from everyone or just you two?”

“That’s the thing, they all keep to themselves, but we managed to talk to them properly. Chae is part of the group.”

“That’s good? You mean Son Chae? Our little, angry cousin?”

“That one. We, finally, managed to go up and talk to them, but Jihyo isn’t here anymore, so Sana and I have been a bit down lately.”

“Oh, did she?”

“What? Oh, no! I mean she went overseas to study, so we can’t really talk to her, not to mention get close or anything.”

“Good, don’t scare me like that! And how is Sana holding up?”

“She is better than me, you know how we work. But she took it hard too, I try to ease things for her, but I know it’s not enough. It’s not enough for me too.”

“Come here.” Sujin pulls Jeongyeon closer and hugs her warmly. “Do you know what it is about this girl that has the two of you interested in her?”

“Not really? I mean, I just feel different about her, and Sana can’t explain it either.” Jeongyeon starts sobbing, it took her long enough.

“Jeong, I know you think this Jihyo girl might be someone special, but isn’t that just your hormones raging?”

“You mean to say Sana and I are just horny about Jihyo?”

“Pretty much. I know you never had any, can’t say anything about Sana, though, but isn’t that just you thinking too much into it?” Sujin laughs at her sister’s incredulous face.

“I’m not having this conversation.” Jeongyeon tries to get away from her sister, who just tightens her hold.

“Yes you are, unless you prefer Seungyeon. She said she will do something about your moping if you were still at it when she comes back today.”

“I’m definitely having this conversation with you right now.”

“Thought so. Now, why don’t you go and spend the night at Sana’s? It’s friday anyways, why not spend the weekend?”

“I could, but you have to promise to never tell Seungyeon unnie about this.”

“I won’t tell. Just go, maybe get this…. Eagerness out of your system?”

“Unnie, please stop. We are just going to talk, alright.”

“Sure thing. Make sure to tell mom and dad you are going before you leave. They are at the kitchen.”

“Will do. See you later, unnie.” Jeongyeon gets up, hugging her sister before leaving.

She texts Sana about spending the weekend, then, and making her way into the kitchen, maybe to grab something to eat before she goes, the walk to Sana’s house was a bit long, and it was too early for her to be willing to take the bus.

THEfunlady: Sacchan! I’m thinking about crashing there for the weekend. Can I?

MsPullYaTongue: Of course you can! I’m telling mom to make more dinner!

THEfunlady: I said I was thinking of it.

MsPullYaTongue: Sure you did. Don’t be long, I’m already waiting.

Jeongyeon just laughs, making herself a sandwich with the meats and cheeses their parents had cooked that afternoon, they would always take friday afternoons off to experiment with new flavors for mr Yoo’s restaurant, or mrs Yoo’s bakery (big part of the reason Seungyeon was always trying to come up with new pastries). And made her way to her bedroom to pack her backpack for the weekend, despite the clothes she already had at Sana’s room, and took a shower, even though the walk there would make her a bit sweaty, she wanted to smell the best she could.


	21. 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank Pearson, whom I, shamelessly, stole the song idea from, check them out: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearson/pseuds/Pearson  
> It’s on one of my favorite fics, “Of Robbing Banks and Stealing Hearts”: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15410967/chapters/35767092 give it a read!  
> Also, I regret NOTHING!

Sana had been down, her parents were not used to seeing their ball of sunshine and rainbows like that, sure, the girl had some bumps during her life, but nothing that ever lasted more than a day or two, this had been going on for weeks now. They were worried. So, mrs Minatozaki decided it was time to talk to her daughter and put an end to that.

“Sacchan, can I come in?”

“Of course you can, mom. Is something wrong?”

“I’m the one who should be asking that. You look really down lately, want to talk about it?”

“I think so? It’s not really that bad.”

“Sure it is, you have never been sad for so long.”

“But I’m not do-” Sana stops herself at the look on her mother’s face. “Okay, so there is this girl that doesn’t get out of my mind.”

“Sana, you already told us you are dating Jeongyeon.” Mrs Minatozaki chuckles.

“Not Jeong, mom.” Sana slips.

“Oh, now you have to tell me. Let’s get to the couch, I’m getting hot chocolate and you get dad, he’s in his office.”

“Do we have to talk about this?”

“We are having this conversation and you are getting dad, now move.” Mrs Minatozaki declares and walks out of the room.

Sana knew there was no use arguing with her mother when she decided something, so she just goes to call her father and get both to the living room couch and tell them everything before mrs Minatozaki starts one of her ‘this family supports each other’ speeches, those could last for hours, and she wanted to see Jeongyeon today.

“Okay, does everyone has their chocolate?” Mrs Minatozaki asks, settling herself beside her daughter, and motioning for her husband to sit on the other side.

“Yes ma’am.” Mr Minatozaki says. “Now, let’s listen to what Sacchan has to say.”

“Okay, so I was telling mom there is this girl that I can’t get out of my head.”

“But we already know Jeongyeon. Is she coming over today, by the way?” Mr Minatozaki was indeed his wife’s soulmate.

“Not Jeong, dad. And I don’t know, I’ll ask her later.”

“Oh, tell her to come over, it’s been too long since we last saw her.” Mr Minatozaki continues.

“I’ll ask her about it, but she came by two days ago. Anyways, as I was saying, there is another girl that I can’t stop thinking about.”

“Sacchan, you are saying you are cheating on Jeongyeonnie?” Mrs Minatozaki managed her best mocking tone yet.

“No, mom. And Jeongyeonnie feels the same way about this girl too.”

“So, tell us about this girl.” Mr Minatozaki encourages his daughter.

“Well, her name is Jihyo. Im Jihyo, and we met her a few months ago, more like I fell on her a few months ago.”

“What do you mean, sweetie?” Mrs Minatozaki gets curious.

“Remember when I told you about how I met Jeongyeon?” Sana asks and her parents just nod. “She was the other girl that saved me as well. When I was falling, she was the one at the foot of the stairs, Jeong came to help, but I was about to fall on her that day.”

“Oh, so this Jihyo is the ‘pretty girl you almost broke her leg’?” Mr Minatozaki remembers.

“Yes, that’s her. I feel something different about her, something like I feel about Jeong. I don’t know how to explain it, and Jeongyeonnie said she feels it too. And we tried to get closer to her, but her friends are too overprotective.”

“Have you tried talking to her without her friends around? Or, maybe, talking to her friends about their behaviour?”

“We talked to them a few days ago, dad. But it didn’t go as planned.” A deep sigh. “We noticed Jihyo had stopped coming to school, so Jeong and I went to ask their friends why they didn’t like us, turns out, they were just worried about her, and we understood.”

“So they were not just having something against you and Jeong?”

“No, mom. They have something against anyone trying to get close to Jihyo. They told us she was abused by her family, and that it took them too long to get her to accept their help, and their parents’ help too. So they didn’t take kindly to any person trying to get closer to Jihyo before they knew the person’s intentions.”

“That’s great that they stand up to their friend, but they should have get to know the two of you first, no?”

“Well, dad, only recently Jihyo was going through some real trouble, Nayeon told us, she is her sister now, that her parents threw her out, and the Ims adopted Jihyo.”

“That’s really bad. But still.”

“It’s alright, mom. From what we were told, it was really bad, and they were just trying to help Jihyo not do anything stupid, none of them was really paying much attention to how they were reacting. And before you say anything.” Sana stops them. “Jeongyeon’s cousin is on that group, so she asked her aunt and uncle about it. They explained that Jihyo’s parents disowned her when she said she got a scholarship to go overseas, just throwing the girl out into the world so they wouldn’t be bothered anymore. And they were all trying to help the girl and discussing among themselves who would take her in. The Ims were the ones to adopt her, for some reason.”

“So even the adults were worried? I’m happy they all like Jihyo and took care of her. Those people, what are their last name?” Mr Minatozaki calmed down after hearing his daughter.

“Park, they live down at area 13 on our neighborhood.”

“Oh, I’ve seen them at the supermarket before. Never liked that woman, she looks like she owns the world. No wonder they have been spending more lately, their two daughters are always saying they have more to spend now, and that they should be given more things.”

“I thought you didn’t spend so much time on the floor, and stayed in your office.” Mr Minatozaki says, amused.

The Minatozakis were a very well off family, mrs Minatozaki had three supermarkets in Seoul, while mr Minatozaki owned a interior design company. They did try their best to not spoil Sana too much, a bit hard when they only had one daughter, and it had been years since the last time they had to worry about money. Both were really thankful Jeongyeon had happened in Sana’s life, the girl was very humble, and was always keeping their girl in check.

“Not important. Sacchan is talking.” Mrs Minatozaki got irritated.

“I’m already finished. Jihyo is confusing Jeongyeon and I, well, she was. Now she is somewhere overseas, studying, and we are here feeling something we can’t really explain for her, and we can’t really see where it would go anyways.”

“That’s alright, love. Maybe talk to Jeongyeonnie a little more? Who knows, you two could just be acting on your hormones about that.”

“Dad, I’m not having the horny talk with you two. We already had the sex talk, and I can’t ever stop having nightmares about the STD song.”

“It’s a great song, missy.”

“Mom, I love you two, but it’s a terrible song. Sing it for Jeongyeonnie sometime, she will agree with me.”

“It’s great and you love it. Now get these mugs to the kitchen and go call your girlfriend.” 

“Will do, mom.” So Sana kisses her parents and heads to the kitchen.

Her phone beeps while she is finishing the dishes, so she just leaves it be, not about to stop what she was doing then. When she does check it, though, it’s the girl she was meaning to invite over telling her she wanted to come. Sana was just happy Jeongyeon was thinking the same as she was.

THEfunlady: Sacchan! I’m thinking about crashing there for the weekend. Can I?

Sana reads with a warm smile.

MsPullYaTongue: Of course you can! I’m telling mom to make more dinner!

THEfunlady: I said I was thinking of it.

MsPullYaTongue: Sure you did, sweetie. Don’t be long, I’m waiting.


	22. 22

You guessed it, Jeongyeon was welcomed to the Minatozaki house by a over-excited mrs Minatozaki who dragged her to the living room where mr Minatozaki was waiting with his guitar in hand. The girl was a bit confused, until Sana just gave her a kiss on her cheek and wished her good luck before bolting out of there, then she was worried. They were just so happy about whatever they were doing that Jeongyeon just couldn’t bring herself to not humor the couple.

Sure enough, good luck was the right thing to say, and Jeongyeon could swear she never thought anyone could rhyme genital herpes into a song. She also swore she would never look at her in-laws the same way ever again. Sana could have warned her about what was happening, but obviously, that wasn’t something her girlfriend intended to spare her from. But the girl was too traumatized when she was dismissed, so scolding Sana about it passed her by completely.

“Come here, I have cookies and hot chocolate.” Sana says, guiding Jeongyeon to sit on the couch.

“Wha- Ho- Why?” Jeongyeon couldn’t even articulate correctly.

“Shhh. Just sit here with me, it will be better soon. Here, drink your hot chocolate.” Sana sat Jeongyeon down and put a blanket around her, before handing over the hot chocolate and making her drink a bit.

They just sat there, Sana hugging a Jeongyeon blanket burrito, and waited until the older girl stopped flinching. The STD song was truly an experience nobody should really be put through, still, Sana was always grateful for her parents trying to take care of her the best way they could. Not that the damned song was the way to go, EVER, but she still appreciated the intentions behind it.

“Ready to talk now?” Sana asks and can’t help but giggling a little.

“I think I am? That was…”

“I know. They came up with that when I was twelve, have been having nightmares about that ever since.”

“Why?”

“Because they love me and were trying to have the sex talk in a way that it wouldn’t make me feel that bad about it. But they did go overboard on the song, though.”

“I can only imagine how that went. On the other hand, I don’t ever want to know.”

“It’s alright. They raised me, remember?”

“That I do. But, now, I want to spend some time enjoying my girlfriend.” 

Obviously, they never managed to get to that, mrs Minatozaki called them down for dinner, and, as it was on the Minatozaki house, it would be another two hours of talking and eating and more talking. Not that Jeongyeon minded, but it was so much different from her own house, she is still adapting, at the Yoos was just a lot of loud voices and fast eating as they all wanted to secure their share before the others ate everything up.


	23. 23

“Jeongyeonnie, are you staying the weekend?” Mr Minatozaki asks.

They were sitting at the living room, watching a movie before turning in for the night.

“If I’m allowed to, sir.” 

“I told you to call me dad. And, of course, you are allowed, this is your house too.”

“Dad, please stop bugging Jeongyeonnie. I told you she is awkward with us.” Sana tries to defend, but worsens everything.

“Fine, but are you staying?” Mr Minatozaki continues, unbothered.

“I am. But I’ll work tomorrow morning, I should be back around lunch.”

“Great, so we don’t need to worry anymore!” Mrs Minatozaki interjects.

“About what?” Sana gets suspicious.

“Your mother and I are going out tomorrow and we don’t know when we’ll be back. Probably very late, so you can be each other’s company and we don’t have to send Sana to the Yoos.” 

“Oh, you two do remember I’m a teenager and can take care of myself for one evening, right?”

“Sana, you burned cup noodles last week.” Jeongyeon points out, trying to hold her laughter.

“Your point being?”

“You were making it with a electric kettle to boil the water.” At that point, mama and papa Minatozaki were already bursting out, which made Jeong lose it.

“You are all meanies.” Sana pouts and sinks into the sofa.

It was cute, mr and mrs Minatozaki had decided to call it a night, so they got up and kissed both girls goodnight, leaving Jeongyeon to handle sulky Sana. It was just a matter of a few kisses and a little cuddling, really. That night, Jeongyeon slept with a lighter heart, well, tried to, not very easy after the damned song, Sana seemed to be completely fine with a slight smile on her face while she slept.


	24. 24

The first year of Jihyo’s absence was rough for the couple, they constantly felt a sense of loss, somewhere within themselves there was something missing and neither could really explain why. They managed to get closer to the girls, they were all very nice and understanding, but there was something they would never allow the couple to know, and that was frustrating at first, so Jeongyeon and Sana (mostly Jeongyeon) worked hard to let their ego go and understand and accept that there were things that weren’t for them to know, and that was that.

“What are you guys doing for vacations?” Sana asks during lunch sometime close to winter vacations.

“Well, Momo and I are going to travel.” Nayeon answers, not allowing for more details to be shared.

“Chae, Tzu and I are travelling too, we are going to visit Tzuyu’s sister overseas.” Mina answers, the younger ones didn’t make it to lunch that day, they were holed up at the library for the week.

“That must be nice.” Jeongyeon says, a little dejected.

“You guys are staying around?” Momo asks, diverting the conversation.

“Oh, just me. Sana is going back to Osaka.” Jeongyeon get a bit sadder.

“You can’t go with her?” Mina questions.

“I kind of can, but I would have to go two days later.” 

“And you are sulking because of two days?” Nayeon lets out a boisterous laugh.

“I know, right? I’ve been telling her to be less clingy and that we will wait for her with the fun stuff, but she keeps sulking like this.” Sana fuels the fire.

“I’m not sulking, I just wanted to be there for everything.” Jeongyeon tries to argue.

The laughter only gets worse, Jeongyeon gets very red, and Sana tries to comfort her a little… Tries to. All in all, they managed to befriend the girls, they were all getting along, despite still missing someone and not being able to explain why it bothered them so much. The only hope was to see said girl if she ever came to visit, and the others told them she was nearby, that is. But they persevered, and they had each other to lean on.

“So, Mina, are Tzuyu and Chaeyoung, at least, doing well on their tests?” Sana tries to make conversation.

“They would do well regardless, but Chae gets too worked up, and Tzu is there to make sure she won’t push herself too much and faint again.” Mina answers easily.

“Wait, Chae fainted before?” Jeongyeon gets worried.

“Last year’s exams took a toll on her. She overworked and fainted during P.E.” It’s Nayeon who answers, like nothing much happened.

“And you guys don’t seem much worried?” Jeongyeon is still confused.

“Jeong, I know she is your cousin and all, but stop right there.” Sana warns.

“But-”

“I don’t care. That has already happened and Tzuyu is there to take care of her, so you will stop with that clingy ass over-worrying of yours right now.” Sana is so stern the others are surprised.

“Oh wow, I never thought I would hear Sana being strict…. Is it wrong that I find it kind of hot?” Momo chirps, tension dispersed but Jeongyeon looks dejectected.

“I’m finding it a little hot too, so I’m gonna say it’s alright.” Nayeon answers, looking slightly stunned from Momo’s arms.

“Well, thank you very much. We can talk arrangements later.” Sana answers and winks to the girls.

“What? No! I’m not agreeing to this.” Jeongyeon answers too fast.

They all laugh again, it was fun to tease Jeongyeon about Sana, the older one was way too clingy and possessive, it was cute in homeopathic dosage, but annoying most of the time. Sana loved Jeongyeon, don’t be mistaken, but she was too much most times, and the Japanese girl tried to release the tension whenever she could. Nayeon and Momo were always up for some casual flirting, pissing Jeong off was a bonus, and always fun to do.

The rest of finals month rolls out too fast, and, last they know, everyone is dismissed for vacations and the couple found themselves getting ready to travel, Sana was a bit restless, she wanted to know if Nayeon was going to see Jihyo, maybe send the girl a letter or something, but Nayeon wasn’t budging about telling them where they were going, and Momo would slip away from the topic just so easily. 

Jeongyeon was more worried about not going with her girlfriend, and missing out on meeting the extended family, mr and mrs Minatozaki said she only really needed to meet the grandparents, and they would take her right when she got there, but she still felt a bit left out. They had understood the girl had a knack for the dramatic already, but Sana constantly found herself getting impatient about it, and frankly, she needed some advice on that, but first, she set out to go see if Nayeon was home, they had formed some weird connection and the oldest had this comfort about her that drew Sana in.  
Also, Momo was rather sharp, and made some really good points all the time.

“Sana, what’s up?” Momo greets, being the first one to see the girl.

“Oh, I just felt like talking to you guys.” Sana answers shyly.

“No Jeongyeon today?” Nayeon asks, coming out with some water bottles.

“She’s working, and I uh-” The visitor hesitates a little.

“It’s okay to just say it. It’s just Momo and I.” Nayeon offers a comforting smile.

“I’ve been thinking, and I wanted to talk to you, see if I can figure things out.” Sana gets shy.

“Alright, let’s head upstairs. I’ll get us some hot chocolate, just follow Momo.” Nayeon invites and gets up.

Momo leads the way, not really saying anything, and Sana follows not knowing what to say. Not that Sana wasn’t comfortable with Momo to speak up, but she was taking the time to gather her thoughts before Nayeon came up and she had to start talking. She had learned this couple was too understanding, and would never really force anyone to do anything, but she was the one who came to them, so she should speak up already. They settle on Nayeon’s couch (Momo was very familiar with it) just as the eldest comes in with hot chocolate and cookies.

“So, what can we help you with?” Nayeon asks, settling herself against Momo, both facing Sana on the other end.

“There is something I have been trying to talk to Jeongyeon about this, but she avoids all her problems like the plague, and I just get frustrated. But I need to talk about it, and you two are really smarter than anyone thinks, and I thought you two could shed some light on this-” Sana fires.

“You are rambling and not saying anything at all.” Momo laughs a little.

“Right, so, I’ve been thinking about this whole soulmate thing, I love Jeong, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like there is something missing? I don’t know, like there is supposed to be more? I’m very happy with my girlfriend, but there is always that want, and I know she feels it too. Jeongyeonnie might seem smart, but she can’t lie to save her life. I’ve asked before, and she all but jumped out of the window trying to avoid telling me she thinks there is something missing too.” Sana confesses.

“I think, maybe, Mina would be better to have this conversation with.” Nayeon wonders.

“Why do you think so?” The younger girl questions.

“Can I be very honest here?”

“Please. I’m here asking you to be honest.”

“You have two buds, right?” Nayeon stops a little and Sana nods, so she continues. “Mina has two as well, maybe she could answer further. From what you’ve said, a part of you feels like your relationship isn't complete with just you and Jeong. Have you really put any thought in this, at all?”

“I thought about that, but both bloomed when I fell into Jeong, and they are just hers? I mean, usually is one per person, but there were cases where people had two that bloomed for one soulmate, from what I read. So we just think we had two for each other.” 

“If that is what you believe, then, why are you looking for anything else?” Momo points out, she felt Nayeon tense up against her.

“I couldn’t come up with any other explanation, and my soulmate is useless in this case. There really is something missing, all the time, and I can’t think about anything else that could explain it.”

“You see, there isn’t a rule that says you absolutely have to be with your soulmate.” Nayeon begins.

“I know, Jeongyeon’s parents aren’t, and I’ve never seen a couple work out so well. Maybe my own parents, but they are soulmates, so that’s a bit different.” 

“My parents aren’t soulmates either, Momo’s are, though.” The eldest continues. “Some people will end up with their destined one, as some say, but their destined one isn’t always who they think they are.”

“Do you have a point, Yeonnie?” Momo asks, wondering where her girlfriend is getting at.

“I do, just entertain me a little longer.” 

“Alright, continue.” Momo steps back (more just leans back on the couch).

“So, in my case, I’ve been lucky to find and be with my soulmate, but my parents weren’t. Talking to them, I learned that you have to make the effort for love to work. My dad’s soulmate died when he was young, I think he was eleven or twelve, he said it left a hole in his heart that could never really be filled, but he decided to dedicate himself to my mother, her flower never really bloomed, she said there is always this feeling of anticipation. Both can’t ever shake this feeling they have for their soulmates, but they learned a lot and understood that they are the happiest with each other.”

“So, you are telling me there is more to Jeongyeon and I than just us both?” Sana is deep in thought.

“I’m saying, that whatever you are feeling, there might be something you are never going to stop feeling, but, if you think Jeongyeon is the one for you, dedicate yourself to her, make sure you are committed to the one you chose to give your love to.” Nayeon concludes.

“You don’t really feel anything is wrong with you two?” Sana looks pleading.

“Oh, there are many things wrong with us. But, answering your question, I don’t feel like there was supposed to be anything beyond. I can’t speak for Nayeon, but I feel that I’m complete, that she fills every blank there was, and nothing more is missing.” momo answers truthfully.

“I think Momo spoke for us both. It feels like Momo was the part of me that I was missing. Like I said, I learned with my own parents that having a soulmate isn’t needed to love someone truthfully, but Momo came and filled all the spaces, and I don’t think I really need more after we found each other.”

“I understand what you are both saying, but the empty feeling is here, and I don’t know how to not think about it.”

“That’s why I said you might want to talk to Mina. We can’t help because we don’t know how. But Mina has two flowers, they didn’t bloom at the same time, so her and Tzu will be able to tell you about their own experience before Chae.” Nayeon rests a hand on Sana’s. “All I can say is, don’t try to run from the feeling, just understand it, and learn to work around it. My parents did, so did your in-laws, you’ve seen it’s possible, maybe just talk to Jeongyeon more about it, you could help each other overcome it.”

“Great, now I just have to talk to the greatest brick-head the world has ever seen.” Sana huffs.

“She can’t be that bad.” Momo tries.

“Oh, once she went home at two a.m. because she didn’t want to tell me my polyester sheets were giving her a rash. AND I HAD ASKED HER ABOUT IT WHEN I SAW THE RED AREA BLEEDING A LITTLE!” Sana gets annoyed.

The older two just laugh, their younger friend just huffs and sulks a little. It was a bit cute, but Sana only got more questions. She got that they might be trying to tell her something, without just coming out and saying it, but she still can’t understand what that might be. Maybe talking to Mina and Tzuyu is the way to go, and she decides to drag Jeongyeon along for that, even if she has to chain the girl down to do so.

“So, I think I should get going. Jeong is about to get off work, and I said I would come over to make sure she did her homework properly. Believe me when I say this, that girl will do anything and everything to avoid studying.” Sana gets up.

“Come over whenever. If we are not here, Momo’s is about five blocks away.” Nayeon pats the younger’s head.

“I will, thanks. The two of you. I love my girlfriend, but I need to talk to people without her around sometimes.” Sana starts heading to the door.

“We get it. Yeonnie had always had a bit of trouble before Jihyo became her friend, but I’ve always had Hana, we know sometimes there are things we can’t or don’t want to talk about with each other. Just reach out, I’m sure any of the girls wouldn’t mind lending a hand.” Momo pats Sana’s head as they reach the door.

They say their goodbyes, Sana gives them both a hug and goes off with lighter steps, but more questions then when she came. Indeed Nayeon and Momo were something else. The eldest couple had this childish aura about them, but would both be the unnies whenever they had to without hesitation. Both would get this unwavering confidence when they got serious, it got Sana thinking of how sharp both really were, and how good they were at not showing it.


	25. 25

Jeongyeon was a pacifist, her sisters would say a coward, but she preferred to look at it on a positive light. Sana had been trying to get her to talk about her feelings, and that was something she was absolutely not about to do that. Her strategy was always to avoid it at all costs, not that she ever had trouble coming out and saying anything, Sujin always tried to pry things out of her, but she just didn’t like talking and wasn’t willing to change it anytime soon.

That is, until Sana cornered her and demanded they talk. The girl argued that their relationship wouldn’t work forever the way it was headed and they might just break things off and save themselves the trouble. Now, Jeongyeon might be a coward, but she was a very possessive coward and losing Sana wasn’t part of her plans at all, it wasn’t even on the table, and that’s how she found herself here. Sitting on the Minatozakis living room (mr and mrs Minatozaki weren’t home), facing her girlfriend and trying to undo the knot on her throat to get the words out.

“Jegonyeonnie, look, I know you think this is bad, but I need you to talk to me. We are going nowhere, and this might just break us up if we don’t try to change it.” Sana pleads.

“Sacchan, look, I a-” Jeongyeon stops a little and takes a breath. “I hate this, I hate talking and I hate facing anything. But I hate even more the idea of losing you, I can’t even think about it without wanting to cry. Just, help me out here a little.”

“I will, babe, I will. Just take your time, we have the whole weekend, breathe a little, I’m here waiting for you.”

“Thanks, I’m trying.” 

Jeongyeon is fidgety, Sana is waiting patiently with the most loving expression she ever had. This, talking, is something long overdue for them, the older has been pushing it since they got together, maybe since they met Jihyo, but there were some things they needed to tell each other, some things they had to know about each other. They were young and impatient, if this didn’t happen now, they wouldn’t be for much longer, and neither was ever considering letting go, they liked each other too much, they needed to be with each other.

“I think I’m ready to try now.” Jeongyeon speaks up after a very long while.

“I’m listening.”

“Look, you must know that I love you, and I’m not trying to break up or anything.”

“Just say it. I already know it, I just want you to say it.”

“I think there is something missing. Like, I’m very happy with you, and all that, but there is this weird feeling like something is not there. Good, I sound like a jerk now.”

“Hey, no. Look at me.” Sana raises Jeongyeon’s face and waits until she looks into her eyes. “I love you too, and I feel the exact same way. We have each other, and I’m very happy, but I’m always missing something.”

“You are? I’m sorry, I wish I was enough.” 

“Don’t. I’m not enough for you either, and that’s okay. And I have something to say about that.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Not at all, I went to talk to Nayeon and Momo today, and they offered some really good points.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. And I should ask, have you ever tried talking to your parents about their relationship? Like, how do they feel about not being with their soulmates and all?”

“Sana, it’s me. What are the real chances of me doing anything close to talking about anything important?”

“Great point, stupid question. So, I was talking to Nayeon and Momo about us feeling like something was missing, and she gave me another point of view that I had never thought about.” Sana stops for a moment and Jeongyeon just nods for her to continue. “She said her parents aren’t soulmates, just like yours. And her dad’s soulmate died when he was still a child, and looks like he has this empty feeling that is always there, but he fell in love anyways and it doesn’t matter if the feeling never goes away, her parents love each other, and that’s what’s important.”

“You were right, that IS a good point of view. Still, this bothers me.”

“I figured, and they also told me to talk to Mina and Tzuyu. Probably Chaeyoung as well, but mostly Mina and Tzuyu.”

“And why is that?”

“They all have two flowers as well, and Mina and Tzuyu’s bloomed at different times, they met Chaeyoung later on. Maybe they could offer some insight, since Nayeon and Momo only have one flower and it’s their soulmate’s.”

“Then, talk to the trio we will.”

“Are you sure you want to come with me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Jeong.” Sana has a annoyed look on her face.

“Okay, fine. I just want to understand what this is better. We’ve been feeling it for too long. And, if we have to just deal with it, we should know already.”

“Thought so. I’ll text Mina and ask if we could visit tomorrow.”

“Alright. Now, can we just cuddle for the rest of the night? I’m not very well.”

“Of course you can. Lemme just finish this.”

And so, Sana does. She just grabs her phone from the coffee table and pulls Jeongyeon to snuggle against her, the older one was the small spoon and liked it, sue her. Mina takes a few minutes to answer, but agrees to meet them the next afternoon. It was decided that the trio would visit the Minatozaki’s, as Sana was alone the whole weekend and they could talk more privately.

Jeongyeon falls asleep halfway into their movie, Sana smiles and kisses her head, but finishes the movie before guiding her girlfriend to bed and quickly locking up, getting ready to sleep and sliding in behind Jeongyeon, pulling her closer and drifting to sleep with a lighter heart than she had lately.


	26. 26

“Come right on in! Is Chae coming later?” 

“We hope so. She is into another one of her projects, and we have no idea at what point it is, so no Chae before she’s done with it and satisfied.” Tzuyu answers with an amused expression.

“Project? And what happens if she isn’t satisfied?” Sana questions as she guides them to the living room.

“Yeah, she’s composing this time. If she doesn’t like, she will just throw everything out and start over.” Mina explains.

“Oh, and you two don’t get worried or something?” Jeongyeon asks as she comes into the room.

“We try to take care of her however we can, trying to not bother her so much. We bring her food, or just hang around her house and wait to force her to sleep, eat and shower. Her parents have gotten used to us around there by now, and they say it’s great that we come over, because they didn’t know what to do with her anymore.” Tzuyu can’t help but laugh after saying it.

“Then we shouldn’t keep you from looking after her.” Sana chirps mockingly.

“Don’t worry too much, we were there in the morning, and we should be back to sleep over. She’s fine for the time being.” Mina dismisses, making sure Tzuyu is comfortable against her.

“Alright, I’m kind of not good at easing into it, so I’ll just say it.”

“Give it to us, we’ll take everything.” Tzuyu says too seductively.

“Alright, I’ll consider the offer later. But first things first. So, Jeong and I have been feeling this emptiness that’s always there, and none of us can really explain it. I went to talk with Momo and Nayeon the other day, and they said we should talk to you both, since we all have two flowers and all.”

“Did she, now?! We do, indeed have two flowers each. I’m sure Yeonnie told you our flowers didn’t bloom at the same time, since we met first and Chaengie came along much later?” Tzuyu confirms.

“She did. Ours did bloomed the moment we met, though. I think, I can’t say for Sana, but I think we are definitely missing something here. Like, I know each flower should bloom for one person, but we had both at the same time, maybe we had two for each other? I’ve been really confused since it happened.”

“Why don’t you start by telling us what you think it means, then you could ask about our own experience?” Mina suggests.

“Why does everyone wants me to talk?” Jeongyeon huffs, causing the others to just laugh at her.

“Because, dear, you can’t keep pushing it until the grave.” Sana mocks.

“Sure I can, I have twenty six arguments I’m planning on winning on my last breath so they can’t retort.” Jeongyeon looks smug.

“We are having a very serious conversation after this.” Sana musters a serious tone. “But, right now, we are talking to these cuties here and you are being a good girl and say things to us.”

“Alright! Fine! Look, I love Sana and all that, but I always feel like there is something missing, an emptiness that doesn’t fill, no matter what. And Sana pointed out that it might be just something we have to deal with, but I’m bothered nonetheless, and I know Sana feels something like that too.” 

“Alright, that was more than I was expecting.” Tzuyu seems too entertained.

“But I think I get where you are getting to. And you be nice, Yu.” Mina adds.

“Oh, I’m being very nice and you know it. Now, I don’t know exactly how you think we could help, but I’ll tell you about after I met Mina and before we met Chae.” Tzuyu continues. “Quite frankly, I never really felt emptiness, but I did feel a lot of anticipation, not necessarily towards anything, maybe I was just anxious about Chaeyoung coming into my life. Not that Mina wasn’t my everything already, she was, but when Chaengie arrived, she became both our everythings.”

“In my case, I had known that not meeting your soulmate might leave the sensation of something to come, and you can’t really explain it. So, when I met Tzuyu, some part of me got filled with her, and another was still waiting. Maybe we would both still be waiting if Chaeyoung never came into our lives, but she did, and we feel very complete. Well, I feel very complete, I can’t speak for Tzuyu.” Mina adds, kissing her girlfriend’s head when she finishes.

“So, our answer might be ‘just get used to it’?” Jeongyeon tries to get a better grasp.

“I wouldn’t say that. Maybe consider more options, or understand that there will always be that feeling you guys can’t shake off. Anyhow, is there something you want to ask, specifically, or can we just get naked and get this party started?” Mina begins sounding understanding, and finishes in the dirtiest way Jeongyeon has ever seen.

“Okay, that was unexpected and I’m very upset that you managed to outdo me so easily.” Sana protests.

“You haven’t seen anything yet. She is just getting warmed up. On a more serious note, are you two gonna ask anything else, ooorrr should I take my pants off myself?” Tzuyu follows Mina’s cue.

“No. That’s it, you two are dismissed. Nothing more to do here.” Jeongyeon gets up, frustrated.

“She has been climbing the walls lately, I’m thinking it’s time. Don’t mind it too much.” Sana whispers as Jeongyeon goes to the kitchen.

“Oh, it’s definitely time. I thought she might jump us all. But we should get going anyways.” Mina mocks, making Tzuyu get up and standing herself.

“Oh, what a shame. Too bad you can’t stay longer.” Jeongyeon tries to dismiss them in the most monotone voice she has EVAH had.

“We can stay all night, as a matter of fact.” Mina taunts, and it’s super effective.

“Okay, enough with both of you. We’ll see you monday. Bye, now.” That seemed to be the last drop for the older girl.

They all laugh, Tzuyu lingers just a little longer, with a very provocative look towards Jeongyeon, which gets her thrown out the door, into Sana and Mina who were laughing like maniacs by that point. The couple just bids them goodbye, before heading out, and Sana goes back in to talk to her, now, distressed girlfriend. They had a whole lot to work on.


	27. 27

Nayeon had been over the moon ever since her mother declared Jihyo would be an Im, she was a people’s person and always wanted someone to pamper her 24/7 (more like a little sister to dote on, but she would never tell). The thing she had envied the other kids about, while growing up, was having a friend that would be there for you, always. That’s why she was livid when she first saw how Jihyo was treated, she went murderous when she got to know the girl. 

Mina, much like Nayeon, also enjoyed people’s company, she was never approached much because her mother did her the favor of passing down her stoic façade, although her dad did make sure she would inherit his goofy sense of humor. It was so hard to make friends who weren’t jerks nor looking to latch on to her “”””””””””popularity”””””””””””, she never really understood why the other kids were all so fixated on her, she just wanted to have fun and get passable grades. 

When Mina saw that she could start a conversation with the quiet and smart kid she had been intrigued by, she didn’t miss a beat and blurted out the first thing that came to her, luckily it worked wonders, when Tzuyu came, she had someone to share her troubles with that liked Jihyo just as much as she did (maybe a bit more). They were both angried than Nayeon about the girl, but Mina had to be the collected one, as Tzuyu had a very short temper and an even shorter self control.

Their group did fit very well with each other, but Jihyo had never opened up to them, everything they found out was through questionable means, (read: Tzuyu pulled her contacts, aka Elkie and Zhou the gossip queens) and had been working hard to get the girl to open up to them. It was starting to work, until Momo and Chaeyoung came around, the two seemed to throw their progress even further behind when they began. They were extremely resistant to their partners’ fondness towards that girl, and made sure to be very clear about it…. 

Until Tzuyu exploded, threatened to break up with Chaeyoung and Mina if they didn’t stop the nonsense, Mina sided with her and said Chaeyoung and Momo should get to know a bit more about Jihyo before continuing their bratty attitude. Nayeon wholeheartedly agreed, but was calmer about it, the two were even more afraid of her, and was very clear when she said they wouldn’t be seeing any of the three until they could come back and tell them about Jihyo, whatever they could learn about the girl.

And so, they did. Momo was a bit more popular, she had this childish charm that dragged a wave of fans after she tried out for the dance club and they saw how she changed. Chaeyoung, on the other hand, had more select contacts, mostly the theatre, arts and photography kids, aka the ones that saw everything. It came as a full hand slap on their faces when they did get to know a little about Jihyo, and it took them a while to get on their soulmates’ good side once more.

Through a lot of talking amongst themselves, failed plans, frustration, Jihyo’s silence, and enough begging to earn them their own reddit thread (for Jihyo to let them in, that is), they managed to get there, and were all very shaken when they learned the girl was going away with a shattered heart and all by herself. Nayeon had been balling her eyes out whenever Jihyo wasn’t around, Momo was trying to hold it together, but whenever it was the five of them, they would all just cry silently and get it out of their system, only, it never left them.

Tzuyu helped a lot, since she had an older sister that went abroad by herself as well, her sister’s soulmate even passed during the first few months, and everything was all the more heartbreaking. The Chous were a very close family, and that kind of loss was everyone’s loss, that meant Mina and Chaeyoung’s too, by default their families, consequentially Nayeon and Momo (with their respective households), because they were family too. Jihyo helped a little, telling Tzuyu to just spend some time with her sister and waiting until she reached out.

The day came, and the Im family all went to take Jihyo to her destination, the girls spent the whole weekend moping around on Mina’s room, until mama Myoui demanded they take a shower and go walk around the neighborhood, as they stank and the last time she had seen them out of said room was friday when they got in from school. She made sure they understood they were banned for, at least, five hours, while she got the maid to help scrub down the entire thing trying to get rid of the smell.

Nayeon managed to hold off until they passed security, she remained quietly sobbing until boarding, then cried a bit more on the plane before she slept, after tiring herself out with it. The first thing mrs Im told her when they landed was to get the girls together, mr Son had found out some very interesting things and she wanted to tell them all together, now that Jihyo was already away, safe and sound. So, they gathered on the Ims living room that night, and readied themselves to what they should find out that night.

“So, do you girls promise Jihyo will never hear about this?” Mr Son begins, Chaeyoung could swear she never heard him with such serious tone.

The girls nod, he didn’t get this serious when Chae, in one of her creative bouts, oil painted his pristine blue car, that meant this was something they would take to their graves, no matter what.

“Good, because that kid has paid enough for that woman’s sin.” He says, noticing the confused looks from everyone, save his own wife. “She is the result of that woman’s greed, the Park couple isn’t a soulmate couple, but that woman met her soulmate, after she had been married for years and just decided to jump into her ‘destined man’ and Jihyo came from that. The Park guy knew, obviously, and, instead of holding it against that woman, for whatever reason, he decided to just resent the girl, that never had anything to do with it.”

The others were in various stages of rage, but mr Son demanded they would do nothing and never mention it to Jihyo, or anybody outside that living room, meaning, the girls and their parents. Tzuyu asked if she could tell her sister, as they were bound to meet, eventually, and she didn’t think she could keep it from her big sis, they agreed, if the time came, but the subject was to be dropped and buried.

They all took too long to calm down, so making dinner wasn’t that much of on option anymore, so they all just went out to eat, coincidentally, the Yoo’s restaurant, and, not so nicely coincidentally, the Parks were there, boasting whatever it was they didn’t have (not for the group, anyways). It rubbed them in a very wrong way, but Chaeyoung, the incredible creative mind she was, just whispered to them she had a plan, but they needed to play it cool for now. Everyone just got a better grip on themselves and sat down to eat.

The Waving Cat, mr Yoo’s restaurant, was THE restaurant on their side of town, the man was a two Michelin star chef, that was hard to find in Seoul as a whole. So, it was more of a statement, for most, to eat there, then really just wanting a really good meal, this particular group of people, just really wanted to eat something good because their day hadn’t been that nice, maybe eating something nice would help. That’s when, unexpectedly but not unsurprisingly, Jeongyeon was the one to come get their orders, she looked amused to see so many people come in, and fondly greeted them, even made sure their waitress was being quick and attentive enough.

Truly an heir right there. By the end of dinner, the girls had introduced Jeongyeon to their parents and they had met mr Yoo, a nice man, slightly shorter than his daughter, Nayeon found it hilarious, and a very good cook indeed. Mr Hirai and mrs Son seemed to find a connection with mr Yoo through their humour, which got everyone groaning and a lot of frustrated protests, thankfully, as they just found out, Momo managed to escape her father’s sense of humor (or lack thereof).

Chaeyoung was very happy when the night ended, her plans seemed to get easier and easier.


	28. 28

“How are things over there? Are you eating well? You look like you lost weight. Do you need me to come over? I’m coming ov-”

“Yeonnie, please calm down? You saw me literally two days ago, and mom would never let you just drop everything and come over across the world just because you are panicking.” Jihyo laughs.

They were video-calling for the first time after Nayeon and their parents left the girl overseas, and the older one was an absolute wreck. Nayeon had always been a walking mess, a personification of an endless train wreck, but Jihyo loved every part of it, there was never a dull day with her, and the day they became sisters was the best day of their lives, so far. Momo said her wedding would surpass it, but Nayeon decided not to mention only their children births would be better.

“Exactly, it’s already been two days! That’s too long. And mom said she will by my tickets whenever I ask her to!” 

“So, why don’t you just get your studying on and come stay with me?”

“Ji, I love you, but that’s not happening anytime soon and you know it.”

“Then, why not apply to college over here?”

“Now, that’s a plan. I should talk to mom and dad, and Momo, about it.”

“It’s a date! So, how are things over there? Tell me everything, you look like you need to talk.” Jihyo gets a playful glint from Nayeon’s stunned face.

“Alright, you listen here, missy. I, THE Im Nayeon will not stand for this disrespect.”

“Yeonnie, just speak up, we don’t have much time to waste, and I still have to talk to mom and dad before I go to my vocal classes.”

“Fine, but this is just because I want you to get to class on time.” Nayeon says, defeated. “Jeongyeon and Sana want answers and I don’t think we can fool them much longer. I’m terrible at lying and Sana turned out to be much more stubborn than we expected.”

“You guys know I’m alright with you all being friends with them, right?”

“That’s not important. But I just want you to say what you are okay with me telling them.”

“You are my big sister, I trust you will protect me no matter what. But, as long as you don’t tell them about my flowers, I’m fine with anything you decide.”

“You are too cute, you know that?!”

“I think you’ve mentioned. But, seriously, my flowers are banned, but you are free to do as you think you should.”

“Alright. Are you sure you will be okay with us befriending them? I mean, they don’t seem to be bad, and I don’t feel right shutting them off when you, yourself said it was fine.”

“Unnie.” Jihyo calls, the softest voice and most loving smile. “I’m telling you it’s okay. I’ve been feeling better, and I’m meeting new and interesting people over here. I don’t mean to sound rude or whatever, but I think they might not be as important as I think they are right now.”

“You can’t do this.” Nayeon sobs, her sister looks amused. “You can’t pull the ‘unnie’ card like this. I wasn’t ready. But I understand what you are saying, I’ll talk to the girls and, maybe, let them get a bit closer.”

“Good girl. Now, go clean that snot, Momo should be arriving soon, I guess. I still have to call mom.”

“Fine. Just because you have to call mom and she will ground me if I take time talking to you away from her.”

“Give Momo a hug for me. Love you, unnie.”

“Love you lots, kiddo. Take care for me, yeah?!”

“Will do. Bye.”

And Jihyo is out. Nayeon spends a while longer sniffing around her room, when Momo comes in and gives her a worried look. The older girl just says ‘Jihyo’, and gets enveloped in a hug, the younger one chuckling about her girlfriend’s big softie side. They just sit there for some time, Momo saw mrs Im talking to Jihyo on her way in, this mess of a girlfriend she has must have just talked to her sister. Good times.


	29. 29

“Hey, Ji.”

“How are you guys? On that note, where is Chae?”

“Oh, we are at her room, but she has just begun another one of her projects yesterday and being social is never on her plans when she is working.” Mina answers with a chuckle.

Jihyo has been abroad for a little over a month, today she had scheduled with Mina a few days prior, to make sure they all could catch up a little, time zones were annoying. Tzuyu was a bit overwhelmed, the sensitive kid she was, eyes wet and sniffing a little. But Jihyo was missing them, and seeing Chaeyoung was not about to be dropped from her plans.

“Okay, get that midget to stop and talk to me.” Jihyo demands.

“First, you both are the same height.” Tzuyu defends her girlfriend.

“I’m still taller.” Jihyo fights back with poorly faked smugness.

“Second, I’m not about to get in that studio.” Tzuyu ignores her.

“Now you guys HAVE to show me.” 

“I’ll do it, you stay here and get ready to call the ambulance, Yu.” Mina says as she gets up.

“Wha-” 

“I can’t let you risk yourself like this, Micchan. I’ll do it.” Tzuyu cuts Jihyo’s question.

“No, Yucchan, just be ready to pull me out if things get bad.” Mina says dramatically as she exits to the studio.

“Is this really that bad or are you two just having a lot of fun mocking me?” Jihyo gets suspicious.

“Oh, you’ll see, alright. I’m going to switch the camera now.” Mina says and just switches to the back camera.

Jihyo could make out the door to Chaeyoung’s art room (she refused to call it a studio, just to contradict the smaller girl), and Mina suddenly gets very quiet. She makes out a deep breath and sees a hand reaching for the nob. The door opens to a (really surprisingly) brightly lit room, Jihyo figures an art room should have good lighting anyways, so she shouldn’t be so surprised. What does surprise her, is a shadow perched on a high stool, in the far corner, avoiding sunlight. The image shakes a little, Mina is nervous.

“Chaeyoung, are you going to talk to Jihyo, now?”

There is a high demonic screeching, the figure in the corner seems to ball up on itself, Jihyo figured that was Chaeyoung.

“Understandable, have a nice day.” Mina answers and bolts out of there.

Changing back to the front camera, Mina’s face shows up completely void of color, a look of fear and horror distorting her features. Jihyo can’t help but chuckle a little.

“Mina, does Chae has her phone with her in there?”

“I think it’s in her room, why?”

“Go back there and wait a bit, I’m calling back on her phone.”

Confused, Mina just goes back. Tzuyu gives her a questioning look, she just explains Jihyo said to wait a bit and that she was fine. On cue, Jihyo calls again, so Tzuyu gets up and answers.

“Ji? Why are you calling again on Chae’s phone?” The youngest asks, still confused.

“We’ll get to that on a second. First you two talk to me.”

“So, you sound much better, how is the new school?” Tzuyu asks.

“Oh, it’s great. A little harder than I thought it would be, but I’m loving it. I got the option to take the advanced course, so I have to study a little harder, but nothing I can’t handle. And the people here are so nice.” Jihyo blurts out.

“Well, you ARE in Canada, isn’t being nice like a requirement there or something?” Mina laughs.

“Maybe, but not the point. Also, I got a job here with one of my teachers, she got her husband to hire me on his restaurant, it’s really close, so I also save on the bus fare.”

“Oh, got a job already? You are not overworking yourself, are you?” Tzuyu tries to sound stern.

“I’m not, I promise. It’s just that i had too much free time during the week, so I decided to get a job and, maybe, save a little more before I go to college.” Jihyo promises.

“So no weekend shifts?” Tzuyu is still doubtful.

“Only saturday mornings, but never during exams.”

“Better. I guess that’s your teacher making sure you don’t get yourself too busy.” The youngest concludes.

“She’s a really good woman, her husband is very nice too. He saw that I don’t speak that well yet, so he let me work the counter instead. His caffé is really pretty too.” The older one beams a little.

“Uuuhhh, you are treating us when we come over to visit.” Tzuyu declares, with a very serious look.

“Yes ma’am, but I’m across the ocean?”

“The three of us are going over to visit my older sister, during vacations, and thought of going to see you as well.” The tall one reveals.

“That’s great news, I’ll be very happy to have you over.”

“Just don’t tell the pigs.” Mina asks, and they all laugh.

“Promise. Yucchan, tell me about you.”

“Huh?” Tzuyu was zoning out a little.

“What have you been up to, lately?”

“Oh, that. Sis is coming to visit soon, she’s staying for a week.” Tzuyu gets too excited.

“The mysterious Chou senior. I hope we meet sometime.” Jihyo encourages.

“Oh, she is great! And she is coming to visit, and she will stay for a week, and we are going to hang out together an-” Tzuyu goes on a rant about her sister.

“Yu, why don’t you get us some water?” Mina interrupts, knowing it will never end if she doesn’t.

“Sure, I’ll be right back. Don’t hang up, Ji.” The youngest says as she goes out.

“She is really happy, isn’t she?” Jihyo chuckles.

“It’s getting annoying, honestly. But I love her and she will never know I said that.”

“I figured, and how are you holding up, Minguin?”

“It’s been a while since I heard that. I’m great, a little worried about my girlfriends, but it’s manageable.”

“You have your hands full, alright. But they are cute, and you are whipped, nothing to really worry about.”

“I am not whipped, mind you.”

“Whatever you have to tell yourself, hun.” The mockery in Jihyo’s voice is obnoxious.

“You are insufferable. But you are cute, and far enough that I can’t go over and hit you right now.”

“Thanks, I do try. On that note, have you guys met Chou senior already?”

“We had a video call with her a while ago, but it seems like she calls on odd times, so we are never really with Tzuyu when it happens. She’s really nice, and funny. You two would work great together.”

“So I heard. We’ll meet when we meet. But now, let’s not talk about her anymore, Chou junior is coming.”

Jihyo could see Tzuyu coming back in the hall behind Mina and decides to change the subject before the younger one goes back into her sister adoring mode. Jihyo found it cute, but Mina was onto something when she said it got annoying. They just talk a bit more, catch up with each other and Jihyo shows them around her dorm, a two bedroom, kitchen/living room unit, she had a roommate that was out at the time.


	30. 30

“Alright, now just throw the phone in there and I’ll do the rest.” Jihyo commands.

“Are you positive you wanna do that? We won’t take responsibility over whatever you see in there.” Mina tries to dissuade her friend.

“Just do it. I’m sure of what I’m doing.” Jihyo groans, tired of this arguing.

“Alright, your funeral. Just know we warned you.” Tzuyu gives in, taking the phone and heading to Chaeyoung’s studio.

The girls had been talking for a while now, and Jihyo was running out of time, so she told the girls to throw the phone in the studio and she would take care of the artist. The duo had explained Chaeyoung had gotten into this project of hers, whatever it was this time, yesterday afternoon, even skipping school that day. Jihyo was not about to have this bullshit, it was alright for Chae to work on her art, but skipping school was NOT okay at all.

So Tzuyu does. She tiptoes to the studio door, some dark aura emanating from the place. Jihyo had gone silent, as the youngest one asked her to not make any noise. Jihyo had to admit, se was very curious about what Chaeyoung was like to get the two biggest badasses (not really) from their group to be that afraid. Honestly, it was imagining being threatened by a bunny mochi (those you spank with a spoon). Just a cute, sweet little candy, maybe trying to glare at you and failing miserably, Jihyo was very interested. The two had warned her about it, and that she would never be able to see Chaengie the same way again.

Tzuyu opens a crack on the door and slides the phone in, closes it again and runs back to Mina. There is loud screeching, some shouting (they couldn’t tell from whom) and then, silence. The two thought it was silence, they weren’t willing to get any closer to find out. After what seemed like hours, really just a couple of minutes, the door opens, a very ashamed Chaeyoung comes out, holding the phone limply beside her body, the call seemed to have ended.

“Micchan, Yuyah, I’m sorry.” Chaeyoung says in a very small voice.

“What?” Both girls ask at the same time.

“I’m sorry, I got too focused on this project, and was being very selfish and you two deserve better. I’ll do better, I promise.” The smaller one cries out and starts sobbing.

The slightly stunned duo was trying to get their heads around what was happening, but took their little partner in their arms and let her cry it out. Nobody would ever know what happened in that room, Chae would get slightly scared when asked, and Jihyo would just smile and never say anything. The entire group would die curious, but never have the guts to further question about it. All in all, it was a great day for Mina and Tzuyu, who got their girlfriend back and none of that artsy shenanigans.

Next morning, the trio headed out for a walk in the park, before going off to the Chous, as Tzuyu’s sister would be coming the following week, and the youngest wanted to clean her room before that, so they decided for date morning, lunch and then an afternoon or hard work (Mina and Chaeyoung knew they would end up cleaning Tzuyu’s and Chou senior’s rooms that afternoon). The three would drop by Mina’s house for her to get some clothes and for them all to talk to mr and mrs Myoui a little, they had stayed over at Chaeyoung and a fresh change of clothes was mandatory at that point.

So they did just that, which resulted in Mina throwing the younger ones to her parents and disappearing to shower. She loved her girlfriends, don’t get her wrong, but her parents were the talking type, and she really wanted to go on a date fast, so stopping to talk to them wasn’t an option at that point. Plus, if her girlfriends couldn’t save her from talking the morning away, nobody could. Later she was informed that Tzuyu got super excited talking about her sister and mama and papa Myoui just dismissed them already.

“Are we ready to go?” Mina asks as she comes back down.

“Sure we are. I want a good walk in the sun, we all should get some more vitamin D, Yucchan is looking sickly lately.” Chaeyoung agrees, as she runs away from her taller girlfriend.

“Alright, girls, are you all going to stay at the Chous tonight?” Mr Myoui asks.

“Very likely, Yu wants help with cleaning her room, that means it will take much much longer than it should. Chae always gets distracted with the things we find and we end up stopping to play with whatever it is.” Mina tells as they say their goodbyes.

“Great, so your dad and I are going to have date night. Call if you want us to pick you up, though. No walking late in the night by yourselves. Now go and get some color on your cheeks, you three are too pale to be missing out on sunlight like this.” Mrs Myoui dismisses the girls as she takes them to the door.

Their morning consists on going to the dog park, watching Tzuyu roll around with the puppies, Mina fawning over any dachshund that comes around (on that particular park, there were many), and Chaeyoung laughing at both while she plays with whatever dog finds it’s way to her. It was a pleasant morning, until they would have to shower later, that is, the sunburn would take it’s toll soon, not that the trio was too worried about that at the moment.

“We should go get something to eat.” Chaeyoung says, her tummy starting to bother her.

“We should. Rock, papers, scissors!” Mina answers, throwing rock, not in the mood to entertain the smaller girl.

“Oh, come on!” Chaeyoung tries to protest, but gets up and goes fetch Tzuyu anyways.

Mina chuckles, this habit of Chaeyoung’s to always throw scissors first was very useful sometimes, it may or may not be the reason Tzuyu had forbidden her to ever mention it to the shortest one. That was a smart move, now that Mina thinks about it. Nevertheless, they all head out for lunch, coincidentally, where Jihyo used to work, running into a frantic Jeongyeon, trying to juggle seating the people coming in and managing the reservations her coworker messed up, according to herself.

“Welcome to- Oh, hey girls. Look, can you do me a solid and just hang around for a little? The floor plan is all messed up and I have no idea how Jeewon wrote down the reservations.” Jeongyeon greets and asks in the same hushed breath.

“No problem, we’ll wait.” Tzuyu dismisses the girl with a chuckle.

“Thanks, you are great.” The older girl quickly says, as she runs away, muttering something about murder.

“Now, this is interesting.” Chaeyoung has an evil smirk.

“I think we should take our time with lunch, how about you two?” Mina questions with a matching smirk.

So they do, the trio sits down by the entrance, waiting to get a table, but the Jeongyeon show was just so entertaining that they didn’t even notice the time going by. They just took their time eating, while watching the older girl all but multiply herself to handle the mess the restaurant was in when they arrived. After a while, Jeongyeon comes out without her uniform and plops down on the vacant chair on the girls’ table, Mina is the only one with the decency to try not to laugh.

“You are lucky I’m too tired to kill any of you.” Jeongyeon mumbles.

“Oh, don’t be like that, you did a great job out there.” Chaeyoung manages to say.

“It has been routine ever since Jihyo quit. We never really noticed it, but she did work for five.” The older girl reveals.

“That sounds like our girl. But nobody was hired to replace her?” Tzuyu chimes in, having calmed down a little.

“I mean, yeah. Like I said, she worked for five, her replacement works for one, now we are four people down.” Jeong says as she ‘steals’ Chaeyoung’s juice.

“That’s MY juice, and yall should step up your game.” The smallest one remarks.

“My juice now. We’ve been trying, but it was a blow we weren’t ready for. Manager-nim is trying her best, but still.” 

“You did good. Any plans for today?” Mina asks patting the sulking girl’s head.

“Sana should be arriving soon, she said she was at the market and would come pick me up right after. We should spend some time at her place before heading to mine for dinner.”

“Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, trying to look a bit better, then?” Chaeng can’t help but ask.

“What do you mean?” Jeong looks confused.

“Jeongyeon, you look really, really disheveled. Maybe brush your hair a little, and wash your face?” Tzuyu suggests.

“That bad?” The older one asks, the trio nods. “Alright, so, see you guys later. Don’t be strangers.”

They just laugh, and decide to call it a day, gather their things and start discussing who will pay today. Chaeyoung had forbidden rock, paper, scissors for those, she couldn’t understand why, but she kept loosing and was not having it anymore, she wanted to pamper her girls too. So red ginseng it was, Mina won that time, they headed to Tzuyu’s, all feeling a bit bothered with themselves already.

Cleaning went as well as Mina had expected, Chaeyoung had found some lightsabers halfway through, Tzuyu played with her for a while, then proceeded to try and get something done with the oldest girlfriend, while their little cub kept making saber sounds and jumping around, until Mina snapped, told them that, either they started cleaning or get the hell out. Also, something about cutting them both out from cuddles for the next week, so the two younger ones just get back on track and not provoke their penguin any further. Angry Mina was dangerous Mina.


	31. 31

Momo was seriously rethinking her relationship status at the moment. It was a damn saturday, why, on this earth, did Nayeon drag her here, it was beyond her. They were at the gym, and Momo was very literally dragged to the place, she was still on her barbie pajama bottoms and very much cranky, she loved exercising, and she loved Nayeon (it was questionable at the moment), but not at seven on a saturday after having finished a late night group study session. That, and breakfast was still far away.

Apparently, Jihyo had talked to her sister this week, and mentioned she started going to the gym, something about improving muscle mass and getting better control over her voice. Momo still didn’t understand it yet, she was sleep walking when her girlfriend had explained why they were going to the gym. The oldest, for whatever ungodly reason, understood it as a challenge, and decided she was getting in shape before they went to visit the shorter girl, which was still a couple of months away.

“Tough morning?” A girl’s voice startles the almost sleeping girl.

“The things you do for love…” Momo almost mumbles, really in the mood to catch some sleep while she waits.

“Isn’t that the truth.” The girl laughs. “Park Sooyoung, I’m one of the owners. The hot trainer over there is my wife, Seulgi.” She points towards Nayeon and her trainer.

“Hirai Momo. The human trainwreck your lovely wife is training is my girlfriend.” 

“Oh, so you are THE Momo? Nayeon’s Momo?” Sooyoung laughs again.

“I see I have a reputation.”

“Oh, you have no idea. Nayeon never stops talking about you and a Jihyo? Never met that one, though. Hope you are okay with sharing.” The trainer mocks.

“Jihyo is her sister, and if anyone is getting her, it’s myself. I don’t think you’ll meet her anytime soon, she’s studying abroad.”

“Oh, greedy, I like it. Gotta go. Take it easy, kiddo. If you want to sleep, there is a matress area over there.” Sooyoung points out a space more to the corner with a tatami and a few mattresses before walking away.

Momo decides it’s time to get comfortable, so she moves out to get herself some sleep, waves at Nayeon and points out the corner she is headed to, before getting two mats and settling with her pillow (she had been holding on to it the entire time), it was a great nap, she had to admit. Nayeon comes over to wake her up and fondly smiles, watching the girl talk to herself while she sleeps. They had to go, though, Chou senior (as Jihyo liked to refer to the girl), had arrived the previous day, and they were all to go over for a barbecue party, even Hana, Kai and Jeonghoon were demanded to appear.

“Momo, my lovely peach. It’s time to go home.” The older one shakes her girlfriend awake.

“Are you done?” The still sleepy girl asks in a yawn.

“For today, I am. We should head home, Jihyo is supposed to call today as well. I think mom said something about her waiting until we are at the Chous.” Nayeon explains as she pulls the other up.

“Oh, I should head home and get ready soon, then.”

“You will dress up for a video call with Jihyo but not to go out with me?”

“Nayeon, you beautiful lady, my lovely baby bunny, you dragged me out of bed at six thirty, on a saturday morning. You. Dragged. Me.”

“You are not wrong, but what’s your point?”

“My point is, you better watch yourself, or I’m making my move on Jihyo and dumping your pasty ass.”

“My pasty ass is on the works to become a very hot one, mind you.”

“Until we get there, it’s a pasty ass. Also, Jihyo said she’s been getting her tan game on. I’d watch out.”

“Is it weird if I come on to my sister? I mean, we became sisters later on, and all.”

“Okay, first of all, EW! Second of all, you have absolutely no game, so don’t even bother.”

“Wha-”

“Third, you making a move on your sister is a very bad anime plot. Please don’t, I’d like to be in a family with morals, no matter which sister I’m with.”

“Fine.” Nayeon huffs, they were close to her house already.

“Good, now feed me!” Momo demands as they approach the Ims front door.

One has to understand, Momo is a hearty eater, but she eats triple when she is an angry eater. That morning, she was very angry, you can’t really blame her, though, her supposedly peaceful morning plans were crushed by her girlfriend and now she was hungry, sleepy and a bit hot (her pajamas were comfy but too warm for that time of the day). Nayeon is lucky she is cute, and that her dad makes the best eggs and bacon Momo had ever tasted, so far (don’t tell papa Hirai, he is really proud of his breakfast skills).

Momo decides she will just shower and get some of Nayeon’s clothes for the day, calling her parents to warn them, and proceeding to take an ear-full from her girlfriend about how she always looks better in whatever she wears, and that even Jihyo’s clothes looked good on her, despite the pants always being a bit short. The dancer just laughed and shrugged it off, never failing to be amused whenever this happened. 

“Took you all long enough!” Mrs Chou greets them as she opens the door.

“Well, Yeonnie was adamant on going to the gym this morning, and arrived with Momo who looked like a zombie.” Mr Im answers while laughing.

“Glad you made yourself more presentable, Mocchin.” Mrs Chou ushers them in, trying to control herself a bit more.

They head out to the backyard, everyone else had already arrived, Mina and Chaeyoung must have been there all day, Nayeon noticed they looked a bit distressed (obviously pointing it out to Momo), maybe meeting the big sister in-law took a bigger tow on them then expected. And then the couple stops dead on their tracks, the parents were already entertained with each other, so they went unnoticed. There was this gorgeous girl being hugged by Tzuyu (who had a massive smile splitting her face in two). 

She was short, but none noticed that at the moment, monolid eyes that were forming the loveliest crescents (sorry Mina) an alluring smile, that felt homey and inviting, plump pink lips, that framed pearly white teeth. Her ink black, wavy hair framed her face to perfection, contrasting so angrily and so fittingly with her fair skin, fell over sturdy shoulders. Muscular arms were holding Tzuyu’s in place, a very well proportioned and toned body was being held by the youngest.

“Are you gonna be very mad if I say I’m a little turned on right now?” Nayeon asks, still eating the girl up with her stare.

“Not if you don’t get mad at me when I say I am too.” Momo manages to answer.

“We, maybe, should move. Mina is waving us over.” 

“We should. Chae is looking at us funny.”

And they, with a lot of effort, make their way to the group of friends, maybe a bit too eager to meet the new face (a very pretty new face). Tzuyu was already very excited, a lot more touchy than usual, even for her girlfriends, she jumped when she saw the missing duo arrive, and rushed them over so she could introduce her big sis.

“Yeonnie, Mocchi, this is Hyunnie!” The girl introduces, then looks down to her sister, still trapped. “Hyunnie, these are Yeonnie and Mocchi.” She points them out.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Hirai Momo, this is my girlfriend, Im Nayeon.” Momo clears things out, laughing heartily.

“I was wondering which ones you were, I’m Chou Dahyun. Guess Im Jihyo is the only one missing, then?!” 

“That, I think you’ll have to get a raincheck on that.” Nayeon gets a little flustered. She is weak to pretty girls, alright?!

“Oh, she’s not well?” Dahyun looks a little worried.

“Not at all. She’s just studying overseas, you two would have to happen to come visit at the same time.” Momo asures the girl.

“Really? Where is she off to?” The shortie gets interested.

“She’s in Canada, Winnipeg. She is on a music program, vocal and songwriting.” It’s Im senior who answers.

“I’m in Canada too, Alberta, though. I’m in piano and composition.”

“Maybe you two are a better match than we thought you would be.” Tzuyu remarks, having come back from whatever she left for a while ago.

“Who is this ‘we’ you talk about?” Dahyun asks.

“Mom and I. Dad seems to think the competition is too fierce, so you are out before even beginning.” Chou junior smirks maliciously, she knew her sister hated being doubted.

“Alright, first, I don’t even know the girl. Second, I don’t think I’m on the right mindset to even consider it at the moment.” Chou senior huffs. “Also, I can very well do it if I want to, dad should know, I got it from him. And so did you, guessing by your two very attractive girlfriends over there who look like they could use some attention….. Maybe I should go over and give it to them.”

It was Dahyun’s turn to look smug, Tzuyu just shoots her some daggers and bolts towards her girlfriends, who were very happy to have her attention on them. Dahyun, Nayeon and Momo just laugh to their heart's content, the youngest could be very cute when she was not trying to be a smarty pants. They all rejoin the trio, making small conversation, getting to know Dahyun, who turned out to have the best sense of humor ever, but was also a very dedicated student and got very serious whenever she was talking about her studies. 

The girls, par Tzuyu (for obvious reasons) found out that serious Dahyun was very sexy Dahyun, despite the girl’s goofy ways.


	32. 32

“Are you two not done with it yet?” Mina sounds amused.

 

“Us? Done with what?” Momo asks, sounding as innocent as ever.

 

“Eating Hyunnie up with your gaze. You two have been doing that since you first saw her and we are kind of betting if you’ll ever stop, by now.” 

 

“Hold up, you guys all know we are doing this? And betting on it?” Nayeon gets angry.

 

“It’s kind of gross. But yeah, everyone knows. Chaeng and Yucchan have already lost, I win if you two stop tomorrow, and Dahyun wins if you don’t stop at all, she’s been dressing up for it when we meet with you two on purpose.” Mina is getting more and more amused.

 

“And we haven’t been told about that? Wow, great friends. And we do not eat her up with our gaze.” The eldest tries to protest.

 

“Sure you don’t. But, I already have today, so, if you don’t tomorrow, I win.” Mina informs, walking towards the table where her girlfriends are.

 

Although her sister was visiting, Tzuyu still had to attend classes, and her girlfriends made sure to enjoy the girl as much as they could in those times, as both wanted the youngest to enjoy some quality time with her sister. Nobody had the heart to tell her to be away from Dahyun for longer than she had to, and the girls were too enamored with Tzuyu being a younger sister, she brought her cuteness to a whole new level and nobody, NOBODY was ready for it. Nayeon and Mina had lost it when they saw the youngest playing peek-a-boo with Chou senior.

 

Having to go to class meant Tzuyu would pay zero attention to whatever was happening and Chaeyoung had taken upon herself to make sure the other wouldn’t miss anything by the end of the week. They were having lunch and the resident tiger was (under some threats) forcing her girlfriend to copy her notes for the morning’s classes, Mina was not having Tzuyu’s nonsense, and joined the smallest girl on making sure everything was copied properly.

 

“Alright, everyone except Tzuyu, should we do a study group today?” Nayeon asks as the bell is about to ring.

 

“Why not me?” 

 

“Because we all know you want this week to be sister time and aren’t going to do any actual work.” Momo explains.

 

“But I can still come and hang out, right?” The girl looks a bit dejected.

 

“Obviously! We’ll be at Mina’s place, just come by when you finish whatever you have planned.” Chaeyoung says.

 

“Ho-” 

 

“You are awful at hiding things, Yu. And you told us you are going out with Hyunnie about five times already. Just do your girls a favor and don’t be the one to propose first.” Nayeon couldn’t resist the mocking.

 

The youngest doesn’t have time to sulk about it, as the bell rings and everyone gets up to head back to class. Nayeon, Chaeyoung and Mina still laughing, and Momo trying to contain herself while failing miserably. After lunch classes go as well as expected, The older trio decided to go over and wait for their youngest ones, they found Dahyun by the gate and made some small talk while they waited.

 

“Fancy seeing you all here.” The pale girl greets. Nayeon noted she was making a great effort today and tries her best to keep herself and Momo in check.

 

“Classes ended earlier, we thought we might as well come get Chaengie and hug Tzu.” Momo greeted.

 

“Glad to know my little girl is being taken care of.”

 

“We try, but I can’t guarantee anything when she’s dating Mina.” Nayeon teases.

 

They do laugh, as Mina gets a little pink in the cheeks, maybe a little embarrassed about what the eldest was implying, that girl knew too much about them all. Hoping the sister-in-law she was trying to get approval from (Dahyun had loved both Mina and Chaeyoung, but she wasn’t about to tell them that yet) would never get to know what was behind the teasing.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll know if anything gets out of hand.” The pale girl’s eyes had a glint of mischief lost on Mina who was very much afraid by then.

 

On cue, the two youngest arrive, a little curious about why Nayeon and Momo were heaving from laughter, Dahyun was looking very smug and Mina seemed like she was waiting for the ground to swallow her up. Until the eldest managed to explain what had happened and they started laughing as well. Mina just pouted and started to walk away by herself, Nayeon and Momo just said their quick goodbyes and follow the angry penguin, making sure she wouldn’t get hurt.

 

“That is a feisty one you two got there.” Dahyun laughs watching the retreating figures.

 

“Mina is lovely, but she has a short temper to teasing. Yeonnie knows enough about us all to make the job easy.” Chaeyoung fills her in.

 

“Oh, maybe I should take Nayeon out for dinner sometime.” 

 

“Not gonna happen, we can’t take the risk, and we still need you to like us and not tell Yucchan to dump our asses.” 

 

“I’m the one dating the two of you, though?” Tzuyu tries to protest.

 

“So? We all know you would drop everything and anything at the snap of Hyunnie’s fingers.” Chaeyoung made her point.

 

“She is not wrong, Choco.” Dahyun agrees, using the very personal nickname she had for her younger sister.

 

“Okay, now I have new ammo, and it’s time for me to go find our girlfriend and try to convince her to dump your dumb ass.” The tiger says and walks away.

 

Tzuyu stares, dumbfounded, and Dahyun just laughs, dragging her younger sister away to their date. Study session was hell, as they expected, with midterms coming up and the girls minding their grades very much, Nayeon and Momo were intent in going after Jihyo, or closer to her, at least, when the time to choose a college came up. Tzuyu, Chaeyoung and Mina also decided to try for something overseas, probably europe, though, as the smallest girl had taken interest in an art program in Switzerland, and Mina found a very good med school around the same area. That left Tzuyu with three options, which she chose to try to go with her girlfriends and try to get into vet school where Mina was going.

 

It was still a few years away, but they all made a compromise to study hard and learn english together, they would need to be fluent by the time they set off (college level english needed to be a bit more refined than what Jihyo left with). For that, study sessions became their thing, not only they wanted to up their grades as much as possible, maybe get a recommendation, they wanted to be sure they would get to their first choice. Sure they all made a very tight knit group, but everyone agreed that going to the best college possible was completely worth it, and their friendship wasn’t about to be disturbed about that. Also, they wanted more places to visit for vacations.

 

Dahyun had heard about that from Momo, after she asked why they decided to have study sessions every single day, so she made sure her adventures with Tzuyu would never last too long so she missed it completely, or that they would take place after the girl had done, at least, her homework. Much to the younger’s dislike, but all the girls liked Chou senior that much more because of that. And so, the week had gone by, just like that, it was time for Dahyun to go back and Mina and Chaeyoung to try and cheer up a very sad Tzuyu.


	33. 33

The first half of the year went by on a haze, as the girls were constantly making themselves busy, and, soon enough, they had a week’s holiday, Nayeon was walking with a bounce in her every step, and couldn’t wait until she was off to see her little girl. Momo was deeply amused, she had never seen her girlfriend so excited about anything, and Jihyo had been talking to her for the past week, and she knew very well about all the surprises the girl had in wait for her big sis. 

 

Im senior would be going alone, her first trip by herself, and was to stay in Jihyo’s room with her, they made sure to get the proper permissions. Momo decided to stick around, her parents wanted to go on a quick trip back to Kyoto, and she was all about that Kansai cuisine, papa Hirai was a fine connoisseur of the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants, where you could get the best food for the best prices. And a week of that would sure be heaven for the Hirai family, Hana was going to join them too.

 

“Yeonnie, can you, please, stop and just come finish our homework? We should be done today if you want to travel and not worry about it.” Momo decides to try and stop the madness.

 

“Wha- Oh, right, homework. I should do homework, yeah.” The eldest girl is a mess, trying to get back to the task in hand.

 

“You don’t have to get yourself worked up like that, your bags are already packed and she will be very happy to meet you.”

 

“I hope she will, but I’m going a day earlier to surprise her. What if she doesn’t like it? What if-”

 

“Im Nayeon, your little sister will be thrilled to see you before she was expecting. And you two will have a great time together, and you have nothing to worry about. Now, let’s finish this so we can close your bags and you can leave tomorrow morning.”

 

And so they do, well, Momo does, but Nayeon was still fidgeting, she was supposed to leave at night on the next day, arriving the following morning, but papa Im figured it would make a great surprise for their youngest daughter if her sister showed up on the afternoon before she was supposed to leave. They had called Francis, he said he was busy that afternoon, but the monitor for the next dorm could pick her up no problem, it was a japanese-american woman, called Sawako, they talked and mr and mrs Im figured if Francis vouched for her, they would trust the girl as well, she WAS a monitor afterall.

 

Six months had given the girls enough english to make do, and Jihyo was gonna be there, and Sawako was supposed to speak japanese, which Nayeon started learning when she got together with Momo, and she would just have to rely on that if anything else fails. Her bags were packed a week before, given her inability to calm herself down, Momo had been entertained ever since the trip was settled, making sure to film and photograph everything she could to keep Jihyo in the loop, obviously not letting slip that Im senior was surprising her.

 

Nayeon was a mess the next morning, it was five, she hadn’t slept a wink the previous night, Momo had bid her farewell the previous evening, refusing to come to the airport at this ungodly hour, and her parents were too sleepy to entertain her, they were also busy filling the paperwork to send her out on her own, so there was noone to cater to her nerves, and she was surely not about to manage that by herself. 

 

The plane ride was fine and dandy, though, the flight attendants had given Nayeon something to help her sleep and it worked like magic (mama Im had written a formal request for it, knowing her daughter would manage to crash the plane otherwise). Although it was almost an hour for the cabin crew to wake her up, everyone agreed it was the best decision possible, the girl was a bother as soon as she got in her seat. Before Im senior knew it herself, she was already standing in the luggage area, trying to remember who she was supposed to meet.

 

It turned out, Sawako was a woman among women, tall, fair skinned, dark haired, eyes among the most gentle Nayeon had seen her entire life, and the damned woman had a great sense of humor as well, how was the poor teenager’s heart supposed to not fall in love?! Exactly. So there was Im Nayeon, a bonafide narcissist, the one who knew she was pretty and used it to her favor, rendered useless by a pretty woman she met in the airport.

 

“ _ I’m guessing you liked me too much, and just going ahead and bring us to my car, Jihyo should be in her room right now, I heard the kids are finishing their projects today _ .” Sawako chukled, dragging the still stunned girl out of the arrival area.

 

“ _ I’m Kuronuma Sawako, Francis’ substitute for today. I’m head of the dorm right next to his, like, literally the next building. I must say, when Jihyo talked to me about you, I thought you would look more like each other. _ ” The woman keeps trying to make conversation.

 

“ _ Oh, ummm….. We-we… I-a… Yeah _ .” Nayeon tries. 

 

“ _ I know I look good, but I’m taken, sorry _ .” It’s full on laughter now.

 

“ _ Oh, sorry. I have a girlfriend too, it’s just, you are, well _ .” The enamored girl manages.

 

“ _ Then, let’s both try and stay faithful _ .” Sawako is still laughing. “ _ And I’d go for Jihyo anyways, so no family drama. _ ”

 

“ _ I’d go for her too. No worries. But you said we don’t look like each other, it’s because my parents adopted her. So we aren’t ‘blood sisters’, as one would say. _ ” The tension seems to have faded.

 

“ _ That explains a lot. But, other than your looks, you are everything she said you’d be. She even told me to dress up a little if I wanted to be entertained. Must say, she wasn’t wrong. _ ” The woman laughs and concentrates back on the road.

 

“ _ I’m gonna need to have a conversation with my little sister later. _ ” The girl replies, cheeks tinted pink.

 

The ride finishes on that same friendly mood, before they know it, Sawako was parking on her spot, in front of her dorm, and getting the bag out of her trunk. The girl was still mildly stunned, but didn’t allow herself to get caught staring again, the five times during their forty minute ride was enough. Before she knows it, Nayeon found herself standing in front of her sister’s room, loud conversation coming from the inside, her guide giggling just behind her (not that she found it a very soothing sound or anything), and the bell is rung.

 

“ _ Hello? Sawako! Come in! _ ” A boy, very handsome, not that tall and with a pleasant eye-smile.

 

“ _ Hey, Chris. This is Nayeon, Hyo’s big sister. _ ” Sawako introduced.

 

“ _ Oh, nice to meet you. Let me help with that _ .” He says and takes the big bag from the girls. “ _ Hyo, it’s for you! _ ”

 

Nayeon is still stunned, it this the guy that dared to make a move on her baby? Are they roommates? AMAGHAD, is he praying on her little angel every night and nobody is doing anything to stop it? What was this guy doing here? Who-

 

“ _ They are just doing a group project, nothing to worry about. _ ” Sawako chuckles behind her on the way in.

 

“ _ I didn’t. _ ” The girl tries to divert.

 

“ _ Sure thing. Just get it together before she sees you. _ ” The woman advises, making her way to the living room.

 

“ _ Who is it? We are already done and I’m not expecting anyone right now. Is it Eunbi senior? I told her I’m not lending my notebook ever again. _ ” Jihyo’s voice brings the girl out of her thoughts.

 

“ _ You do know you can call her Eunha, right? _ ” Another male voice asks in a chuckle.

 

“ _ That would mean I was willing to call Eunbi junior SinB and THAT is so not happening I can’t even begin to imagine it. _ ” Jihyo answers, seemingly irritated.

 

“ _ Nobody really understands why you two are like that. _ ” Sawako speaks up this time. “ _ Also, you should check it out by yourself. _ ”

 

“ _ No real need to understand, she knows what she did. But I’ll go. _ ” Jihyo’s voice is getting closer.

 

To say Nayeon wasn’t ready for what greeted her, was underplaying it by a lot. Jihyo was someone else completely, a very attractive young woman came into view, muscles just visible under her clothes, a very toned body that oozed confidence, perfectly tanned skin and a silky purple long hair cascading down her shoulders. The brightest smile came to said girl’s lips, and Nayeon couldn’t tell if she was still standing there, because her knees didn’t support her anymore and the air had left her lungs. She seriously considered becoming a bad anime plot right then, sorry Momo.

 

“Unnie! You said you were coming tonight, this is the best surprise ever!” Jihyo greets, with the brightest smile her companions had ever seen.

 

The Im sisters go into the living room, where three girls and two boys were lazing around a lot of notebooks, books, pencils, and snacks, truly a mess from a group project. Sawako was laying on the couch, a bag of chips in her hand, seemingly stolen by the Chris kid, given his pout. But Nayeon was still stunned by what she was seeing, how could a few months change someone so drastically?

 

“ _ Right, people, this is Nayeon, my older sister. These are Chris, Fee, Gina, Fei Fei, and my roommate, Amy. _ ” Jihyo introduces, pointing each one out.

 

The other kids greet the new arrival enthusiastically, she doesn’t register much, just letting herself be guided throughout everything. The group, finally, decides to put their things away, and clean up the place they messed up terribly, mostly because one of the dorm leaders was hanging out right there and none would manage to get out of it. It was a normal thing, for the dorm heads to befriend the residents, and Sawako had taken a special liking to Jihyo after Francis had told her about it (they had been dating for two years) and the man had made it his personal mission to make sure Jihyo was well cared for.

 

Unbeknownst to the sisters, papa and mama Im had a talk with the principal, vice principal, head of her dorm, and homeroom teacher about the girl on the day they arrived with her to sign the paperwork. They all knew very well what had happened and were asked, by very caring and concerned parents, to look after their little girl. Francis, the overzealous big brother type he was, talked to his girlfriend and asked for help as well, he knew some things were ‘girls talk’ things and he would not be able to help. 

 

The couple had become Jihyo’s parents, making sure she was well cared for, even talking to Amy Lee, her slightly troublesome, free-spirited roommate, telling as much as they could, and asking the girl to take care of her as well. From all those people caring for her without her noticing (Jihyo wasn’t used to that, don’t judge), the girl had began going to the gym with Sawako, sunbathing on free mornings with Amy and learning to cook with Francis (he came from a family of cooks), and it all made her the eye-candy she became.

 

“Unnie, can you stop daydreaming and get your luggage to my room? We should be getting ready for lunch, everyone else is already at it.” Jihyo says, and that manages to get her sister moving.

 

“Ji, I- you- How?” 

 

“Yeonnie, I know it’s been a while since we saw each other, but we video called each other two weeks ago. Why are you looking at me like you haven’t seen me before?”

 

“Because I haven’t? I mean, I knew you were growing up well, but this is just too much, and I don’t think it’s good for my heart.”

 

“Alright, off to the shower with you. Just relax in there for a while and get changed, maybe washing the plane grime away will help.”

 

So, Nayeon does. She gets the first clothes she found on her suitcase, her bathroom bag and her phone (she had managed to ask for the wifi password earlier) before going in, locking the door, and frantically calling Momo, praying to the old gods and the new that the girl would answer. Luckly, she did on the third ring.

 

“Nayeon, you better have an excellent reason to be waking me up at this hour.” 

 

“Momo, I’m in deep trouble. So, save the sermon and help me out here.”

 

“What did you do this time?”

 

“I did nothing, I don’t even think I spoke so far.”

 

“If you kept your mouth shut, I don’t know what you could have screwed up.”

 

“Not funny, also not the problem.”

 

“Then stop panicking and use your words.”

 

“Jihyo is hot.”

 

“I think we all know that.”

 

“No, you are not understanding, she is way hotter than when she left, and I don’t trust myself to not make a move on my little sister. Do you know how wrong this sounds?”

 

“I know how wrong it sounds alright. But I won’t hold it against you if you do. Just enjoy your time together, and be honest with me about it.”

 

“Mo, I love you so much. I’m gonna send some pictures and you can see for yourself how much I’m about to suffer. Right now I should be taking a shower, a very cold shower, and getting ready to have lunch with her and her friends.”

 

“I love you too. And, hey, she has more friends now, that’s great, huh?”

 

“Sorta, kinda, but not really. A boy answered the door when I arrived. A very nice, very handsome boy called Christopher Bang, that I’m not sure I like very much. There was also this other Felix kid that seemed way too at home at her room.”

 

“Im Nayeon, stop trying to convince yourself that everyone is after your little sister, quit making it all about her and understand she is going to date at some point, and one of the kids you met today may very well be it.”

 

“No, not gonna happen. She will forever be my baby and nobody is taking her away.”

 

“I swear to Freyja that I’m murdering you and making it look like an accident if I so much dream you ruined anything for Jihyo.”

 

“Bu-”

 

“No talking back. Now go get a shower and tame your jealousy, you are gonna be a great big sister, support our girl in whatever it is she has going on and take a lot of pictures because I’m very curious as how she looks.”

 

Momo hangs up before another word is said, she knew Nayeon would try to rationalize her craziness and talk her into agreeing with whatever stupid plan she would come up with. Nayeon just huffs to herself and proceeds to get ready, she might as well just go and eat something before trying to get an afternoon nap, the flight made her tired, sure, but her encounter with her little sister had been much more draining.

 

The outing goes as well as Im senior had expected, the other kids were great, really, all very creative and talkative, maybe it came with being composers-in-the-making, Nayeon learned that Felix was Amy’s brother, and great friends/roommates with Chris, that Jihyo had some beef, nobody really knew about nor cared enough to try and understand with Hwang Eunbi, that she refused to befriend whatsoever (everyone else just found it funny). 

 

It made Nayeon happy, to see her girl building a life for herself, sure the five were there for her and would never leave, but they all knew she needed people who weren’t them, and to experience new and exciting things that none of them would be able to offer her. Something warmed up in the older girl’s heart, and she let loose, honestly enjoying the company, never forgetting to register everything so she could send the pictures to the girls later. 

 

That week was going to be difficult.


	34. 34

QueenYeon sent 27 images.

 

Minguin: Okay, Nayeon, what the hell?????

 

foodenthusiast: IKR! She told me about it, but I didn’t think things got this out of control.

 

Minguin: IM NAYEON ANSWER YOU GD PHONE!

 

notanarthoe: I haven’t seen it yet, but why is Mina so angry?

 

foodenthusiast: Just look at the photos, Chae. And tell Tzu to check her messages.

 

notanarthoe: Will do.

 

notanarthoe: Nayeon, why tf are you cheating on Momo? And who is this very attractive bitch you got yourself over there?????

 

foodenthusiast: First of all, language! Second of all, that’s Jihyo and I’m telling.

 

notanarthoe: What? That very hot lady that is hugging Nayeon way too tight is Jihyo? Our girl, Jihyo??

 

Throwmetothepuppies: Yes. And I’m telling too.

 

notanarthoe: Wait, no! I’m sorry, I made a huge mistake. I regret everything.

 

Throwmetothepuppies: Still telling. Now, excuse me while I handle some other issues that just came up.

 

Minguin: Okay, I’m off to help Tzuyu with her business, brb.

 

notanarthoe: Wait, where are you two going? Don’t leave me out!

 

QueenYeon: They are going to jack off to Jihyo’s pics, Chae. Momo is probably already at it too. Just do it already and I’ll try to not think about it.

 

notanarthoe: On it.

 

Nayeon sighs, trying not to show she was even considering making a move on Jihyo right then and there. It was her third day there, and neither Jihyo nor her friends were making anything easy on her. Despite proving themselves to be a bunch of goofballs, it seemed like everyone around Jihyo was good looking and undeniably charming, who could really blame Nayeon for falling in love every time her eyes landed on one of them.

 

The older Im had learned many new things about her sister, about herself and the new faces she met when she arrived. She learned that Chris was very much in love with Felix, although the feeling wasn’t mutual, and they were very far from being each other’s soulmates, Chris’ flower had withered when he was a toddler, never even blooming, and Felix’s didn’t bloom so far, Amy’s had bloomed, she knew who it was but had a sworn vendetta against her soulmate, something unforgivable but nobody had the courage to ask any further.

 

The visitor also noted how caring and sweet the Bang kid was being towards her baby, she decided it was about time to ask about it, maybe give herself some peace of mind about the boy’s intentions. And that’s exactly what she did, under the guise of getting groceries for dinner and demanding Jihyo would be the one to cook, the Lee siblings declared they would do the cleaning up, so it left the two to go and get supplies, given the dorm heads would be helping with making dinner as well.

 

“ _ So, Chris, when are you thinking about asking my sister out? _ ” Nayeon decides it’s better to be blunt and just ask.

 

“ _ I, what? _ ” The boy finds himself speechless.

 

“ _ When are you thinking about asking my sister out. _ ” She repeats slower.

 

“ _ And what gave you that idea? _ ”

 

“ _ Look, I know it might be weird to have this conversation and whatever, but I need to have some peace of mind when I leave her here again. Call it overprotective, I don’t care, I need to know she will be fine. _ ”

 

“ _ Fair enough. I know Jihyo haven’t had the best experience in the are, from what I’ve grasped. She doesn’t really talk about it. But I don’t really have the best situation right now, I think she is great, and I know she is an amazing person and doesn’t deserve anything but the best, but I’m in love with Felix, not that it’s going anywhere. She knows about it, and I found myself getting closer to her as she was the only one who really listened to me without the pity. _ ” Chris gives up and decides to just tell everything.

 

“ _ She’s really good at it, not pitying. But you are interested in her. _ ” Not a question.

 

“ _ I am. I want to be with her and I’ve been thinking about trying. _ ” His honesty moves the girl that envelops him in a very tight hug.

 

“ _ You better do her good, or I’m flying over and you’ll never be able to stand up again. _ ”

 

“ _ I promise I will do my best. I can’t promise we’ll be together forever, but I swear I’ll do the best I can for as long as we are together. _ ” Chris starts sobbing a little.

 

“ _ I’m sure you will. Just remember to talk to her, about anything, she will understand. And, if you really need someone else to talk, just give me a call, I’ll help as I can. _ ” Nayeon pats the boy’s head a little.

 

They hug it out for a while longer, then Nayeon produces some tissues and a bottle of water and they go on to finish their duties. Who knew, crying in the middle of a supermarket could be this painless when you were not in Korea. Nayeon had some trouble sleeping that night, but her heart calmed down a bit more.


	35. 35

So, returning to Korea wasn’t as easy as Nayeon had planned. Leaving Jihyo again was already bad enough, now she had a possibility of her getting a boyfriend and it didn’t sit well at all. Momo waiting for her at the airport helped a little, but the girl was just there to take her home, before having to leave for whatever else she had to do with her dad. So here we have it, Nayeon, a worrying mess, overthinking about her little baby sister and not even moving to wash the plane away before bed, she just sat there and stared into nothing.

Mama Im had enough and came up to kick, quite literally, her daughter to the bathroom and demand she showered before coming down to dinner, giving the girl half an hour to be sitting on the table and eating her dinner, otherwise there would be more kicking. Nayeon went, begrudgingly, but she did it anyways, she just didn’t want any more kicking and knew her mom would definitely do it. 

She tells them about the time together with Jihyo, the friends she met there and the possibility of a boyfriend, papa Im was a bit agitated, but his eldest calmed him down (they wouldn’t put it past him to board the very next plane and bring his youngest back). Momo shows up for dessert, with a duffel bag, saying she was spending the next three days over, even though they were back to school on monday, she argued she still had the entire next day to be with her girlfriend and that was that.

“So, how was it?” Momo asks, after they settle for the night. “The truth, please.”

“You know how she was always stunning, right?” Nayeon asks, cuddling up to Momo on her bed.

“Obviously. I mean, I do have eyes that still work.” 

“So, she is like, totally toned now, and has a tan, and her hair is purple. I might have ruined my pants a little when I first saw her.” 

“First of all, ew. Second of all, don’t ever tell that to anyone else. Also, I’m guessing the photos don’t do her justice?”

“You have no idea. And I was really surprised by the friends she found there.”

“Were they nice?”

“Very nice. Her roommate isn’t all there, but she is great, I think you two would be great friends.”

“Hey!”

“Not sorry. Oh, and there is a possible boyfriend.”

“What? And you just let him?”

“Calm down, maybe? He has a bad love story too, sadder than Jihyo’s, if I might say so.”

“Do tell.”

“So, his name is Christopher, and his flower withered when he was a baby, then he fell in love with his childhood friend, cliché, I know, but the friend isn’t interested at all, like, not even considered.”

“Sounds tough. But he is alright, though?”

“Seems like it. And he said he wanted to try it with Ji, so I decided to give him the chance.”

“I’m so proud of you, being all big sisterly and all.”

“Shut up.”

“I love you too, Yeonnie.” And Momo kisses her silent before an argument breaks loose.

She knew Nayeon enough to be certain the girl would talk the entire night if allowed to, and Momo just missed her in this week apart, she wanted cuddles and kisses and for her girlfriend to get some sleep, she knew a tired face when she saw one. So they just get their attention back to the movie they had on and lowered the volume enough for it to become a lullaby to them. In no time, both were deep asleep, thank Thanos for modern technology that turns things off by themselves.


	36. 36

This was bad, not really, but it was. Momo had already given up and decided to put on her earphones and force herself to sleep, Nayeon, on the other hand, already had a hard time sleeping as it was, this was just the icing on the cake. The eldest was about to murder someone, had it not been her girlfriend’s arms around her and the inability of waking her girlfriend up. It was on purpose, though, Momo knew she couldn’t let go or things would definitely get out of hand.

What was happening? Well, Chaeyoung had broken her ankle that afternoon, the little one though it would be a great idea to try and climb a goddamned tree to ‘get a better view’ of the school’s garden, which she could have done from the second floor, or the roof garden, but her dumbass brain decided the tree was a great option and proceeded to climb it. The whole situation went down hill, or down tree in this case, when she was coming back down, and failed to notice she wouldn’t be able to reach the ground from the lowest branch, the girl decided she would just jump down.

So, here they are, at the emergency room, Tzuyu looks very bored (she was trying to stop her girlfriend and had warned the fall could happen) talking to Dahyun in a video call, Mina is pacing a bit, she saw their little one after the whole thing happened, dirty, crying and with her left foot at a very unnatural angle, she was nervous. Nayeon and Momo got there a bit after the trio, and were also on a video call, with Jihyo, and didn’t seem to be too worried about Chaeyoung at the moment. Mrs Son was the one to come to the hospital, mr Son couldn’t get out of work, so she would have to make do. 

It wasn’t the first time the resident cub had gotten herself into this type of mess, so her parents were well past the stage of worrying about it, unless it became the case for surgery, they just didn’t mind it that much anymore. But it was the first time for Mina to see it, and Tzuyu was just done with her girlfriend after trying to stop her for the good part of an hour, so the older of the trio was really the only one stressing herself out about it.

“Micchan, come over here and talk to Jihyo. She’s been asking about you.” Momo calls over, trying to get the girl to stop pacing.

“Huh? Oh, Jihyo, yes. Sure.” The distressed girl walks over in a daze.

“Hey Minnie, I hear you’ve been getting your ballet back on track?” Jihyo greets as soon as the girl comes into view.

Nayeon and Momo moved apart and sat Mina down between them, mostly to make sure she would quiet down, and hugged her tight, trying to squeeze into the small screen. They talk for some time, get some updates from one another, and even introduced Jihyo and Dahyun, well, sort of. Tzuyu decided it would work out fine to just turn the phones to each other and have the two talk through the video calls, needless to say, it didn’t work at all. But they did manage to greet each other through some light screaming (it got both girl’s roommates to come shut them up at each end of the calls).

They were having fun, mrs Son had gone in with Chaeyoung when she arrived, so they were all just hanging around, killing time and trying to make a three way call work out, that meant relying to Jihyo whatever Dahyun had said and back the other way around, as they couldn’t listen to each other. Until Jihyo had to go and attend her classes and Dahyun wanted to get some writing going for her project, and now there were four. That’s when mrs Son came back out and told the girls everything was fine and they could go in.

“So, are you gonna listen to me when I tell you your idea is bad?” Tzuyu blurts out as soon as she could be heard.

“Yucchin, my idea was great, thank you very much. The execution was a little lacking.” 

“No, you are a dumbass, alright.” Mina remarks.

“Language.” Mrs Son reminds the girl with a chuckle. “But yeah, you are a dumbass, Chaengie.”

“Moooom! I had it.” 

“Except, you didn’t. You knew it would have ended badly from the beginning, and I TOLD YOU you would fall BEFORE you even started to climb.” Tzuyu scolded. 

Nayeon and Momo were there just for the show, sure they both thought Chaeyoung was being stupid from the get go, but they also knew Tzuyu was raging and weren’t about to miss it. Obviously, Nayeon had been recording the whole thing from the moment mrs Son came to get them, and, boy, was it worth it. The couple, surprisingly, managed to make themselves invisible to the participants, and were very much amused.

“Yuyah, there is no need to be mad, I’m fine.” The cub tries to calm her very angry girlfriend down.

“Don’t Yuyah me, Son Chaeyoung. I told you not to do that, you ignored what I said and did it anyways.” Tzuyu gets to the edge of the bed and pokes the injured leg. “And what fine are you talking about? It’s obviously hurting.”

“Alright, Yu, come here and sit with me.” Mina tries, seeing the ‘poke’ is getting progressively stronger.

“I will, Micchan.” The youngest answers, offending finger still pressing.

“Chou. Sit. Down.” Mina lost her temper when she saw the youngest not moving.

Tzuyu gulped and headed to the couch, she may or may not have gotten intimidated by this, never having seen her oldest girlfriend that commanding. But she just let the chill run down her spine and sat down beside the girl, who immediately threw her legs on her lap and hugged her tight. Mina knew very well Tzuyu was as worried as she was, but also very frustrated for being ignored when trying to prevent all of this, and being made to watch as everything happened. The youngest was more of an actions girl, and not being able to do anything about it at all made her very sensitive.

“Oh, we have a party.” The doctor says as he comes in. “How are you feeling, Chaeyoung-ssi?”

“Much better. But I wasn’t feeling that much pain before, is it normal?” the girl asks, remembering it started to hurt more after they put it back in place.

“Sometimes the adrenaline from the fall and the shock from seeing a body part in an unusual angle might numb you a little. But, once you have the chance to calm down and let your body feel everything properly, you would feel the real pain.” The doctor explains the simplest way he could.

“Oh, that makes sense. And when can I go home, doc?” 

“About that, Chaeyoung-ssi, you have to spend the night, I’ll let you go home tomorrow before lunch. The position your foot bent was a bit worrying, and we are expecting you to feel a lot of pain today, so we are making you stay to give you some painkillers and monitor your condition.”

“I thought there wouldn’t any complications?” Mama Son asks, a little worried.

“There won’t. Not as you might think, Mrs Son. We are keeping an eye on her to make sure there won’t be an inflammation, if it develops, we will have to give her some antibiotics to stop it as soon as possible.”

“Oh, then keep her for the week, can’t you? Her father and I could really use some vacation time.” Mama Son seems to have grasped what the doctor was explaining.

“That sounds like an interesting proposal, we can work something out.” The doctor mocks.

Nayeon, having stopped filming when the doctor came in, couldn’t hold herself back anymore and just flat out laughed (Chaeyoung’s betrayed face was too much), which brought the two adults to laugh along with her, and the other three girls to look at the couple in the corner very confused.

“When did you two get here?” The hospitalized one asked, truly confused.

“We were here the entire time? How rude.” Momo huffs, honestly offended.

“Wait what? I thought you two just came in after the doctor.” 

“Well, Son Chaeyoung-ssi, we came here with your girlfriends. You know, to be good friends and support them?! Seems like we aren’t really wanted, so we will be taking our leave.” Nayeon answers, getting up and taking Momo’s hand.

“Have a nice day, Chaeyoung-ssi. Bye mom, Minnie, Yucchin.” Momo says, as Nayeon and herself hug the others goodbye.

Chaeyoung is both confused, annoyed, ashamed and feeling like she failed as a friend. But she doesn’t really say anything while watching the couple treat her as a stranger and give love to all the others. A pink tint makes itself present on her cheeks, the doctor just chuckles to himself as he watches everything happening, working with teenagers was always amusing, no matter what happened, there was always a very entertaining story to it. 

“I screwed up, didn’t I?” Baby cub sighs looking at her girlfriends.

“You did, but it wouldn’t be the first time today.” Tzuyu bites.

“And that is our cue. Yucchin, we are going home, go say goodbye properly.” Mina commands, not leaving space for questioning.

Tzuyu pouts and protests a little but gives Chaeyoung a kiss on her forehead anyways, then proceeds to hug mama Son and makes her way to the door, getting their backpacks on the couch. Mina makes a more proper job of saying her goodbyes, giving the patient a kiss on her cheek and letting mrs Son hug her for a little longer, before proceeding to leave and take the very stressed out youngest, hospital girl just sighs and slumps into the bed.


	37. 37

The rest of the year went by with no real accidents, mostly because Mina and Tzuyu had some fun the night Chaeyoung spent in the hospital and refused to let the girl in. It was summer, the youngest ones had just graduated elementary school, but they were all going over to visit the girls overseas, so neither Jihyo nor Dahyun were coming back for the event. Papa Im and mama Chou made sure to video call the girls so they could be there too, and it was great, Tzuyu cried a little when she saw that her sister was watching, and Nayeon took advantage of having her sister connected, as always.

 

Just a few days later, it would be time for them to head out, for a vacation that might change everything. Two days before they leave, the girls decide to go and eat out together, they would visit both Dahyun and Jihyo’s, but wouldn’t see each other for the first week, so, might as well spend time together now. The next days would consist of packing, Tzuyu being too excited to actually do anything, Nayeon wondering how her sister might have changed by now and Chaeyoung trying to get her girlfriends packed properly. Mina was way too relaxed about everything, and Momo joined her in the ‘no worries’ team.

 

“Hey kids, what can I do for you today?” Jeongyeon greets after they sit down.

 

“What’s up, Jeong. I think two iced americanos, one lemonade, no sugar, one white chocolate and one strawberry frappuccino, for now.” Momo answers while the others are still riled up.

 

“On it.” The girl tries to wink, fails miserably, and goes off to place their order.

 

Momo chuckles, she could be cute when she wasn’t trying. They managed to work their friendship with the clueless couple, it had taken a few scoldings from Jihyo, some ground rules (about disclosure) from Nayeon and a speech on how big of idiots they all were from Dahyun for them to actually start opening up to the couple. Everything was much better and easier after Nayeon’s visit to her sister, Jihyo had a talk with her about everything and was even considering dating, if she could, so they all just went for it and found out, the two were, truly, really nice and fun to hang out with.

 

“Here ya go.” Jeongyeon comes back with their drinks. “So, you guys excited about vacation? Except for all the homework, I mean.”

 

“Thanks, kid.” Nayeon is the one to answer. “We are already done with homework, though. It took us about two days to finish?” 

 

“What?” The girl is genuinely surprised.

 

“Yeah, we are all going to travel the day after tomorrow. So we had to finish it before we go.” Mina explains.

 

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Sana and I are going to Osaka next week, so we’ve been putting off the school work.”

 

“Get it done as soon as you can, it takes more time than you might think it will.” Momo warns.

 

“If you say so. We’ve been meaning to get to it tonight, though.” Jeongyeon scratches her head a little. “Alright, I have to get back to work, try not to break the table again.”

 

“That table was not broken and it was Dahyun who decided to dance on top of it, and you know that!” Chaeyoung protested as the waitress walks away laughing.

 

The incident would be held against them forever, as it seemed. But they had fun with it anyways. The afternoon went by slowly, at some point, Sana showed up to pick up her girlfriend, once again, the girls explained they should get to their homeworks soon, if they wanted to be done by the time they left for Osaka. The group talked some more, and then it was time for them all to leave, each finding their own way. Sana and Jeongyeon headed out wherever they were going, the trio went out to drop Chaeyoung, the one who lived closer, and then proceeded to Tzuyu’s. Nayeon walked Momo to her house before heading home herself, both had to finish packing.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mo.” Nayeon bids her girlfriend goodbye.

 

“Maybe, I can’t guarantee we’ll finish packing until last minute.” Momo chuckles when she gets slapped on the shoulder.

 

“Well, I will make sure to be. But we can just call if we need to.” 

 

“Sure. Call me when you get home?”

 

“You know it’s just four blocks, right?”

 

“Still, call me.”

 

“Yes ma’am.” Then Nayeon pecks her lightly and walks off.

 

The next day was, as anyone that knew the girls predicted, a mess of packing, panicking and frantic calls to each other. Mina and Momo were the first ones to finish, they were the ‘don’t worry’ team, Nayeon was next, already knowing what she should do, her problem was that she got distracted by almost everything she found in the process. Tzuyu was useless, so her dad was packing for her, with little inputs from his daughter here and there, which made everything all that much slower. Chaeyoung was just panicking all over, she managed to put everything she wanted to take on her bed, but actually putting everything in the suitcase was proving to be a challenge.

 

Jeonghoon took it upon himself to finish everything for his sister, who was, now, just talking to herself in a corner. The boy was NOT about to forgo his vacation as an only child because that useless cub couldn’t close a damn suitcase. They were all leaving in the same flight, the older couple would get another flight once they reached Alberta, their parents thought it would be better for the two youngest to fly off with their unnies, so together they went. The flight attendants may have held a grudge against the group once they landed.

 

Nayeon and Momo would be changing terminals to get their next flight, so the group just bid each other farewell and the couple promised to wait for the four girls with lots of food the next weekend, they were having a week apart, then would gather at Jihyo’s for another week and head out for Dahyun’s on the next one. So, the trio proceeds to baggage claim, and the older duo moves on to continue their journey. This vacation was set to be very important to all of them.


	38. 38

“Okay, who the hell is that? WAIT, don’t answer, I’m killing him.”

 

“You are going to calm down, stop being dramatic and no swearing, Mo.”

 

“Yeonnie, there is a guy back hugging our girl and you are that calm? It’s a pretty guy, Nayeon.” 

 

“Momo, that’s Chris, he is dating Jihyo. Just calm yourself down before she chews you out.”

 

“I don’t mind her chewing me.”

 

“Alright, first of, ew. And that’s my sister, you jerk.”

 

“I appreciate the fact that you don’t worry about me being your girlfriend at all.”

 

“That’s because we don’t do ugly jealousy, babe. Now let’s move, they’ve already seen us.”

 

The couple has just arrived, and halted at the gate to gossip like the old ladies they were…. In spirit. Jihyo saw them and was waving, she had gone to pick them up with Chris, managing to escape Sawako, who was very insistent on taking them there, even though she had a very bad cold. The young couple had been dating for about five months now, and they did talk a lot about their feelings and what they expected from the relationship, turns out, both were very happy with the decision.

 

Chris was a sweetheart, always very attentive to Jihyo’s everything, and ever so gentle in his ways. Jihyo, as they found out, was extremely patient, and loving, surprisingly touchy, but neither minded it. Despite their own troubles, both were working on a very good relationship, the best they could manage, at least. Nayeon was being posted about it, by both, she had been very adamant with Chris to talk to her, not that the boy minded at all.

 

“Yeonnie, Mocchin! Get over here and give me hugs!” Jihyo beams as soon as both are past the gates.

 

“Jiji! I missed you so much.” Momo steps up, leaving her girlfriend behind with their bags, for a hug.

 

Whatever the older one says after that is intelligible, Chris just laughs with the mess, and goes out to help his in-law with the abandoned luggage, Nayeon hugs him tight, and expresses how happy she is to see her baby sister, finally, in a relationship and happy with said relationship. The boy had always shown himself to be shy, but talking to the eldest Im always brought the worst on that aspect from him.

 

“Channie? Get over here.” Jihyo calls him closer. “This is Momo, Nayeonnie’s girlfriend and soulmate.”

 

“Hirai Momo, very nice to meet you.” She greets, ignoring the hand stretched out to her and just dives for the hug.

 

“Christopher Bang, nice to meet you too.” There is a muffled grunt from him. “I can’t breathe.” It comes out with much difficulty.

 

“Mo, let him go, he’s looking purple.” Nayeon pushes the girl aside and hugs the boy as well. “You are looking better than I remembered.” Meaning more than she let on.

 

“I am much better, thank you. Now, let’s take you both home. I’m hungry and Hyo didn’t let me buy any snacks.” Chris offers, taking one of the big suitcases and Nayeon’s backpack.

 

“What? And you are okay dating such a heartless woman? I can never stand for this kind of cruelty.” Momo fakes, very exaggeratedly, outrage.

 

“Okay, first, you wish you were dating me. Second, I made dinner and this loser here bought too much food on purpose, claiming he wanted to eat my cooking.” Jihyo motions to Chris. “Lastly, We got here ten minutes before you arrived, your plane was literally just maneuvering when we came in, no need or time to get snacks.”

 

“I gots to say, looking from Jicchan’s point of view, I’m forced to agree with her. Also, yeah, Mo, you wish.” Nayeon chimes in, already laughing.

 

“Great that we understand each other. Now let’s get a move on, I don’t trust Amy to not eat all the roasted meat before we get there.” Little Im gets them moving.

 

“Isn’t that, like, three kilos of meat? You sure she won’t die before she finishes?” The boy asks amusedly.

 

“It is, but you know she will damn well try. And die with no regrets when she can’t eat anymore.”

 

“You are talking about your roommate Amy? I never thought she would be this kind of an educated woman.” Big Im is amused.

 

“Oh, you have no idea. Felix can be easily tamed, be she is a wild one and will relent to nobody.” The boy informs as they all head to the subway.

 

On another part of the country, about two hours earlier, three very nervous girls arrive, hoping to be able to find their guide soon, and not get separated. Dahyun is very easy to spot this time around, she is blonde now, and is wearing a red hoodie and yellow sweatpants, standing out like a sore thumb among black, brown and grey coats roaming around the arrivals area. Tzuyu ran to her sister as soon as they were out of the gate, Chaeyoung got mad for being left behind with the luggage and Mina just laughed.

 

It was always nice seeing Tzuyu act like the young girl she is, they all often forgot she was the youngest on their group, and they were all a bunch of idiots, so the girl was never really acting that much different from the others, with Dahyun, however, she was very much a younger sister, and would allow herself to be pampered and ask for attention. It was endearing, and when Chaeyoung stopped complaining about the suitcases, she was going to join Mina on looking at the sisters fondly with a dumb smile on her face.

 

“So, we should get going, we need to get food on the way too.” Dahyun says, as she is done greeting everyone.

 

“Food sounds good. How have you been, Dubs?” Mina is the one to speak up first.

 

“I’m alright. Been thinking about trying for college in Winnipeg instead of here.”

 

“Where Jihyo is?” Chaeyoung joins the conversation.

 

“The one her school is affiliated to, yes. They have a better curriculum for composers like me.”

 

“That is a great idea, actually, if it’s better, no reason not to switch.” The shortest chips in.

 

“I was thinking about taking a college turn when we go there next week, but I haven’t come around to do it yet.”

 

“You do know you can just ask Jihyo and she will make it happen, right?” Tzuyu, finally, stops fawning over her sister and talks.

 

“You guys might be great friends, but I barely know her. And I don’t have a way to contact her.”

 

“We have you covered. When do you think you want to do it?” Chae waves her off.

 

“Maybe tuesday? We should get there on monday around lunch, so the next day would be good.”

 

“Alright, let’s get to your place so we can contact Jihyo.” Tzuyu ushers them forward, she got cold and hungry.


	39. 39

Throwmetothepuppies: HyoHyo, you around?

 

gloriousmelons: Here, what’s up?

 

Throwmetothepuppies: Hyunnie wants to tour your college.

 

gloriousmelons: You remember I’m not in college yet, right?

 

Minguin: The tall dummy wants to say that, is it possible for Dahyun to tour the college you are going to when we come over next week?

 

Throwmetothepuppies: HEY!

 

notanarthoe: Shhh, just be quiet and let the grown ups talk, babe.

 

QueenYeon: Says the midget #1. Now, could it be done, Ji?

 

Notanarthoe: HEY!

 

gloriousmelons: I can ask Sawa-chan and tell you later. 

 

Minguin: Great! Thanks, Jiji.

 

gloriousmelons: also, why not just add Dahyun to the chat? It would also be faster to coordinate everything.

 

Minguin: Gotcha.

 

Minguin added justlookdonttouch to the chat.

 

QueenYeon: I like the user name.

 

gloriousmelons: Dahyun-ssi, hello.

 

justlookdonttouch: Thanks, Nayeonie. 

 Jihyo-ssi, no need to be so formal.

 

gloriousmelons: Then don’t be formal too.

 

justlookdonttouch: I’ll try.

 

gloriousmelons: Great! So, this college tour you are talking about.

 

Minguin: Oh yeah. The tour. We asked Jihyo and she is asking too much, so we just added you.

 

QueenYeon: Also, Momo and I are trying to get some sleep, please just answer her so she can go and get kidnaped by Sawa-chan

 

gloriousmelons: My sister everyone

 

foodenthusiast: Like you weren’t the one who told us to get some sleep after we stayed up all night

 

gloriousmelons: You know what, I’m off to Sawa-chan. You are all meanies.

 

Throwmetothepuppies: We love you too, Ji. Now just open a chat with you and Hyunnie and leave us alone.

 

gloriousmelons: And that, my friends, is dinner getting cancelled for all of you monday. Have a good day.

 

***

 

_ +1 (204) 974 OOO 219 sent you a message. _

_Add_ _Block_

 

+1 (204) 974 OOO 219: This is Jihyo, add me so we can talk things out.

 

justlookdonttouch: oh, hey Jihyo. Lemme just save your number here.

 

_ You added +1 (204) 974 OOO 219 as Jihyo Im. _

 

justlookdonttouch: done

 

gloriousmelons: Great, so, I’m headed to the dorm head room, they are college students 

 

justlookdonttouch: are you sure I’m not bothering you with this?

 

gloriousmelons: It’s not a problem, and will save me one day’s worth of planning.

 

justlookdonttouch: when you put it like that, I can only humbly accept

 

gloriousmelons: Don’t worry too much. I’ll talk it out with Sawa-chan and get back to you. Just hang in there for a while

 

justlookdonttouch: yes ma’am

 

gloriousmelons: The group chat should be fun to pass time…… 

And I kind of don’t want Momo and Nayeon to actually take a nap right now.

 

justlookdonttouch: Evil. I like it. Hit me up when you are done

 

gloriousmelons: Sure will. Brb.

 

***

 

notanarthoe: and everything here looks classy and shabby at the same time. like, things look expensive, but a poor attempt at being hipster

 

foodenthusiast: and you would know, obviously…

 

notanarthoe: you saying that about me, but Mina is the one who liked it

 

Minguin: She says it like the wasn’t taking pictures the entire day

 

Throwmetothepuppies: You both liked it, now stop trying to seem cool, we all know you

 

justlookdonttouch: what up bitches

 

Throwmetothepuppies: You too, stop trying to seem cool

 

justlookdonttouch: okay, that is when I go off to mind my own business

 

Throwmetothepuppies: Yall woke me up, everyone knows how I am when people wake me up for nothing

 

Minguin: Right, girls, if I don’t return in two hours, sent an ambulance

 

notanarthoe: will do, hun

 

Minguin: you are coming with me

 

QueenYeon: I’ll pray for your return

 

foodenthusiast: You are brave women. I’ll eat in your honor.

 

notanarthoe: wait, what?


	40. 40

gloriousmelons: Hey, you there?

justlookdonttouch: yeah, what’s up?

glorioumelons: About that college tour.

justlokdonttouch: did you get it? Please tell me you got it, Chae has been on this crazy college kid wannabe hype ever since I said I wanted to visit it

gloriousmelons: That sounds like Chaengie, just take her to a fancy library and she will stop.

justlookdonttouch: sounds like a great idea, all I ask is that she stops  
soon

gloriousmelons: Trust me on this, we had that a little before I left, so Minguin and Yucchan took her to whatever college fancy library was closest and she stopped.

justlookdonttouch: I think there is a college nearby, I’ll do that tomorrow, thanks. So, the tour.

gloriousmelons: Yes, the tour. I got it. Sawa-chan helped me book it.

justlookdonttouch: have I told you I love you?

gloriousmelons: I have a boyfriend.

justlookdonttouch: I’m not jealous, I’ll share

gloriousmelons: We’ll talk when you get here. But I should warn you he is a sweetheart, it’s gonna be hard to win me over.

justlookdonttouch: don’t worry, I’ll work hard

gloriousmelons: Has this ever worked? I mean, do you know what to do had I said yes?

justlookdonttouch: no idea, it never happened, so I’m just playing by ear

gloriousmelons: Thought so. Oh, I managed to get a tour on wednesday, though, they don’t do them on thursdays.

justlookdonttouch: it’s great, I mean, I really want to do it. It could be sunday before we come back and I’d still be more than happy about it

gloriousmelons: Then you are fine. Sawa-chan said she would give us the tour herself. How she pulled it off? Nobody knows, but I’m not gonna say no to that.

justlookdonttouch: sounds like you really like this girl

gloriousmelons: Sawa-chan and her boyfriend helped a lot when I came here. I see them as older siblings, and I am very thankful to them.

justlookdonttouch: you really out here for my heart, aren’t you?!

glorioumelons: Alright, I’m gonna go to bed. You hang in there, fam.

gloriousmelons is offline.

Dahyun has a huge grin on her face, Mina saw it, but decided to not comment. Maybe those two were going to work out better than they all thought, Tzuyu and Chaeyoung had been out in the dog park all day, it was about three blocks away, and Mina was not feeling like moving too much, Dahyun had to work on her composition assignment and got a stroke of inspiration and said she had to do it right away. That left the two older ones in Dahyun’s dorm and Mina was still a mystery to the shorter one, at least, that’s what she thought.

Truth be told, Mina was just weird, and didn’t seem to notice uncomfortable situations very well once she was friends with the person, and she decided she was friends with Dahyun on the day they met. Except, the other party wasn’t informed of that, and now was slightly over worrying herself on what to do. Thankfully, Mina’s tactless butt came to the rescue, and that’s how they are sitting together talking about music, she wasn’t a specialist like Dahyun or Jihyo, but her years dancing to all the famous pieces. It was more of a being used to listen and learning to recognise what felt right and what didn’t.

“So, tell me where you feel it isn’t right.” Dahyun asks before starting to play what she had that far.

“There. I feel it should speed up, not slow down.” Mina points out when it gets to a part that she doesn’t like.

“But it’s almost at the end? It should be slowing down to a halt, no?!” Dahyun, although feeling it’s not right, still argues.

“I don’t know about you the technicals, but I feel it should speed up. Maybe end it a little faster than you thought?”

“I’ll give it a try. I’ve been stuck on this for the past three days, why not.” Dahyun sighs.

Before Mina can say what she was thinking, the door bursts open, Tzuyu greets them curtly and storms to Dahyun’s room. Little after, Chaeyoung comes in, limping from the leg she (technically) broke before. So, Chaeng was being an idiot again….. Mina is seriously thinking about dumping that midget ass that only brings trouble.

“Hyunnie, I think it would be good if you could check on Yucchan, I’ll have a talk with our idiot girlfriend first.” Mina whispers and the other nods before going after the youngest

“Hey, Mina, how was your day? I-”

“Cut the crap, Son Chaeyoung. What did you do this time?” Mina is stern.

“Remember that one time I broke my ankle? Yeah, so, please don’t be mad, but I kind of tried to climb another tree while Tzuyu was distracted by some puppies, and now it’s swollen and hurts again.” The girl shyly explains.

“Oh, so you were being a dumbass AGAIN and even managed to sneak behind our girlfriend’s back, despite knowing she was the one trying to stop you from the beginning?”

“Saying it like that makes me look like a jerk.”

“Maybe you make you look like a jerk, ever thought about that?” Tzuyu snaps.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to know if I could climb trees again. Now I know I can’t.”

“Alright, so you can reflect on how sorry you are on the couch tonight.” Mina decides.

“But-”

“Did I stutter?” Scary Mina makes an appearance.

“No ma’am.”

“Good to know you CAN hear us, you just chooses not to. Now I’m going to get an ice pack for your ankle, and you better be on the couch elevating it when I’m back.”

With that, Chaeyoung hustles her way to the couch, after removing her shoes in great pain, and manages to fix herself up before Mina is back. The older doesn’t say anything, just presses the frozen peas to the purpleing ankle, Chae tries not to wince, and goes off to check on Tzuyu, after tossing a water bottle and some painkillers for their asshole on the couch. 

Chaeyoung is just glad they are at Dahyun’s and Mina is controlling herself to not go ballistic, she still has nightmares about the morning after she broke it, when the girl came by on her own and went off on her about being an idiot, all the while speaking with a voice that was too calm and too cold.


	41. 41

“ _ How old is your baby? _ ” The plumber asks, trying to make small talk.

 

“ _ Oh, that’s Nayeon, she’s sixteen. Just ignore it, please. _ ” Jihyo tells the man, feeling very ashamed of her big sister.

 

Nayeon had been screaming in baby voice the entire day, Chris had taken Momo out to their school dance studio, trying to let the sister have some bonding time, which ended with Nayeon clogging the kitchen sink and Jihyo having to request an emergency plumber. Francis had been nice enough to try and fix it for them, but failed, and there we have it, a dorm head trying his best to be sympathetic to the girl in distress, Jihyo trying very hard to not kill her sister and still thinking of ways to hide the body, and Nayeon being very bored and grumpy by the fact that they had to wait until the plumber was done before being able to do anything fun.

 

The baby noises started about five minutes before the plumber arrived, Jihyo had already been too worked up to bother with making it stop, but now she is regretting not having done anything about it. She loved her big sister, she really did, but this was just pushing it. That’s when an idea came to Jihyo that would get the older girl into some slight trouble and this madness to stop, so, as any good daughter, Jihyo called her parents, mama im to be exact, but she knew both would answer, it was still early for them to be asleep.

 

“Jihyo! Hun, turn the TV off, Jiji is calling.” Her mother says in one breath and papa Im quickly joins. 

 

“Hey mom, dad. I miss you guys.”

 

“We miss you too, sweetie, how are you and the girls coming along?” Mrs Im continues.

 

“We are having fun. Momo went out with Chris to our school’s dance studio, it’s just me and Nayeonnie right now.”

 

“Why it there so much noise? And, is that a baby?” 

 

“No dad, it’s unnie. And the noise is the plumber, the kitchen sink got clogged.”

 

“Wait, you are telling us there is a worker there, trying to do his job and your sister is sulking?” Mr Im tries to confirm.

 

“Well, we were supposed to be going out, but francis told me one resident had to be present and Amy is traveling with her family this week.”

 

“So you are trying to get your dorm fixed, Francis and the plumber are there and your sister is screaming like that?” Mr Im is having a hard time wrapping his head around it.

 

“That would be correct, dad.”

 

“Get the phone to your sister.” Mrs Im commands.

 

“It’s okay, mom. Mr Yates is almost done.”

 

“Mr Yates?” 

 

“He is the ‘does it all’ for the two dorms, dad.”

 

“Im Jihyo, get your sister on the phone.” Mrs Im gets impatient.

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

And so she goes to the room where Nayeon is wailing like a baby for the past hour or so. It gets louder and louder as they approach the room, and it goes haywire when Jihyo opens the door. The only real way for Nayeon to notice her was going up and covering her mouth, the moment she did, the eldest moved to protest which came to a halt as soon as she saw the phone screen that was being shown to her.

 

“That would be all, Jihyo. Nayeon will bring you the phone back when we finish, just go and check on how the plumber is doing.” Mrs Im dismisses her youngest.

 

“Yes, ma’am.” And she leaves, closing the door very relieved that the noise is gone.

 

Jihyo was just glad her sister stopped, so she went back to the kitchen to see mr Yates was wrapping up. The girl just thanked the man, gave him some muffins she made that morning, to Francis too, and dragged herself to the couch trying to get some rest after her very stressful morning. The people who worked for the school, in general, couldn’t take payments from the students, no matter what they were called to do, and Jihyo knew the old man that fixed everything in the dorms had been lonely after his wife went to visit their grandkids, so she would come by with a treat and spend some time listening to him tell his stories.

 

No idea how long it had been, youngest Im was already dosing off on the couch when Nayeon came out of the room, looking like a kicked puppy, shyly approaching the almost sleeping figure. She smiled fondly at the tired image of her little sister, looking her real age for a change, and decided they could afford a little nap before they go out to lunch, it was not even eleven yet. Late lunch didn’t sound so bad.


	42. 42

MsPullYaTongue: Nayeonnie! I know you are traveling with Momo, but hear me out

 

QueenYeon: Sana, what’s up?

 

MsPullYaTongue: So, Jeongyeon and I have been talking

 

QueenYeon: Well, that’s what people do?

 

MsPullYaTongue: Not like that. Like, I talked to her about our conversation the other day

 

QueenYeon: I’m gonna need a little more

 

MsPullYaTongue: The one about there not being a rule about soulmates having to be together

 

QueenYeon: Oh, that one. It’s been a while, I almost forgot it happened.

 

She didn’t, Nayeon was always very aware about anything Jeongyeon and Sana related.

 

MsPullYaTongue: Yeah, so, I think we are almost figuring things out, but I wanted to talk to you and Momo a bit more

 

QueenYeon: Sure thing, we come back in two weeks, though

 

MsPullYaTongue: Can I video call you, then? 

 

Nayeon takes a look around, they had been lazing around, pretending to watch a movie that none was really interested in. Nayeon and Momo were cuddling on one corner of the couch, Jihyo had wrestled Amy for the other corner and the girl who lost was sulking on the floor in front of them. Chris had gone back to Australia to visit his family three days before, Jihyo and him had coordinated so he would be back on the following wednesday to meet the rest of the girls.

 

“Sana wants to video call us, well, me.” Nayeon announces to the room.

 

“Well, do you feel like talking right now?” Momo questions.

 

“I don’t see why not, but Ji, are you fine with it?” Times like this show how much of a big sister Nayeon really is.

 

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m fine, unnie. I’ve been fine for many months now, I’m dating a wonderful guy, even.”

 

“The wonderful part is still questionable, but I’ll let it slide for now. I’m calling her, then.”

 

Jihyo just laughs and kicks Amy, who was working on her homework with headphones on, to warn the girl about said call. Most likely, her sister would show Sana their room, and it was only polite to warn the girl, mostly to get her to wear a shirt.

 

“It’s connected. Hey Sana, how are you doing?” Nayeon announces and greets.

 

“Nayeonnie, I’m good. Jeongyeon was being an annoyance and I almost dumped her, but everything is fine.” Sana giggles. “Oh, hey, Momo.”

 

“Hi Sana.” Momo says as she shows up beside her girlfriend.

 

“What can we do for you?” The eldest asks.

 

“Are you sure I’m not bothering you? Seems like you two are busy.” 

 

“Us? Not at all, we are just lazing around, Jihyo had an inspiration for her composition project and now we have been grounded all day waiting for her.” Im Senior spills maliciously.

 

“I told you I, me, myself, Im Jihyo was staying home to finish my project. Never told any of you to stick around.” Jihyo scolds in the background.

 

Sana’s heart flutters at the voice she so longed to hear, the happiness can’t be disguised on her features. The older couple notices right away, but make a silent agreement to not point it out and just taunt the girls on the other side, Jeongyeon had joined Sana with a shy wave as a silent greeting. Despite her girlfriend not being any subtle about the one that never left their thoughts, Jeong is doing worse than Sana at trying to seem less excited.

 

“Well, I didn’t hear you say anything.” Eldest Im complains.

 

“That’s because you were too busy eating Momo up with your eyes at the dance studio.” Youngest Im rebutts.

 

“Enough with you two.” Momo ends the argument, she knew it would go on forever if she didn’t.

 

“Fine, back to you two. How are things in Osaka?” 

 

“It’s great. Jeong almost got kicked out of a restaurant yesterday when the owner saw he shouldn’t have allowed her to enter his ramen eating competition.”

 

“In my defense, we had been walking around all day, and didn’t eat lunch.” 

 

“That sounds very fair to me.” Momo agrees with her fellow eater.

 

“Oh, right, Jihyo say hi.” Nayeon says as she flips the camera to show the couple around.

 

Jihyo brings her head up and waves at the camera, going back to her assignment. Nayeon points out Amy, who was still in her own world with her books, now with a shirt on, she pans the camera around, showing the girls the small living room, and pointing the kitchen at the corner. At some point, Jihyo had gotten up to find a book she needed, as the girl was wearing a loose tank top, a small part of her mark was showing as she reached for the book on a shelf.

 

The moment Sana and Jeongyeon see the little bit of yellow and purple peeking out, their moths go dry, their hearts start beating faster and words seem to escape them completely. Nayeon had flipped the camera back and was talking again, they couldn’t make out what, Sana just gave automatic responses and Jeongyeon had stopped working completely. Obviously, the older couple knew what they were doing, Im senior panned the camera at that exact moment on purpose, maybe that would spark something akin to understanding on the other two, she has had enough of their obliviousness, and Jihyo had been doing wonderful, there was no reason not to.

 

Momo takes note that the only ones speaking had been herself and her girlfriend, and decided it was enough, they could hang up now and go back to being disgusting with each other, as Amy had put it, so she signals Nayeon to just say their goodbyes and dismiss Sana and Jeongyeon, both seem to be having a really hard time holding themselves back at that point. And so, they do and the call is off.

 

“You are a very evil woman, you know that, right?!” Jihyo chuckles once the call ends.

 

“Like you didn’t go for the shelf on purpose.” The eldest one remarks.

 

“I think I’m having second thoughts about staying in this family.” Momo chimes in.

 

“Sure thing, like you didn’t enjoy their looks of despair after the ‘slip up’.” Nayeon counters, air quoting the last part.

 

“I’m not denying any of that, just saying.” The peach shrugs and goes back to snuggle into her girlfriend.

 

“And you, young miss, what brought up this naughty side of yours?”

 

“You know, unnie, I’m glad you asked. Remember when I said my boyfriend was wonderful and you questioned it? Well, he taught me a lot these past few months.” Jihyo looks smug, and Amy, having finished whatever she was doing and having moved to the kitchen, was fake gagging at that.

 

“I’m gonna have to agree with Amy on this one.” The eldest shrugs.

 

“Thank you!” Amy sounds frustrated from the kitchen.

 

The playful banter continues on, Momo makes a mental note to talk to Jihyo about it alone later. Nayeon would discuss it as soon as they got any sort of time for themselves, so that wasn’t a worry. But this Jihyo was really nothing like the little girl in shambles she said goodbye to a year ago, this was someone who learned to be happy, someone who was very much her own person and in charge of her own happiness. It made the Peach’s heart swell with a mix of very pleasant feelings.


	43. 43

“Okay, Minnie, can you get Choco and find Jihyo? I’ll help Chae.” Dahyun begs, already tired.

 

“You sure? Yucchan would feel better with you.” Mina replies, also in a low voice.

 

“I would go, but Chae is still wearing that boot thing and Choco is sulking, I have no idea who to look for so it’s better if I just hang back with the dumbass.”

 

“Good point, I’ll go. Just look for your giant, little sister and you’ll find us. Want me to take something?” The taller girl chuckles.

 

“If you could take the dwarf’s backpack, it will help a lot.” The pale girl has a playful grin.

 

“Not that you are that much taller, but alright.” There is a pause. “I do think you are shorter, no?!”

 

“I’ll do you a favor and pretend you didn’t just suggest that. Now move, your girlfriend is heading out.”

 

Mina turns and sees Tzuyu lurking towards the exit, she knows the girl won’t just leave them all behind, but Chaeyoung getting her ankle swollen again got her in a very sour mood. Dahyun tried to get things better, but she knew her little sister very well, and sulking like that was just another way for her to show she was worried and wanted them to take better care of themselves. It was endearing for the older one, but Chaeyoung was already desperate to fix things with her girlfriend. That, and Mina and Tzuyu had fun without her last time, who knows what they are gonna do this time and she will, most definitely, miss it.

 

Much like Mina hopped, Nayeon and Momo were holding a ridiculously big sign that said ‘ _ Congratulations on your sex change operation, and welcome back home, Son Chaeyoung! _ ’ to which, Mina and Tzuyu (who were in front) couldn’t help but get mischievous about it, so they made sure everyone around them would know who the sign was referring to, and Tzuyu could get it out of her system already.

 

“ _ Chae, they are over here! _ ” Mina almost screams (really) to her girlfriend.

 

Tzuyu steps forward and signals to the sign, standing very close to it and waving exaggeratedly to the very embarrassed girl, trying to pretend it’s not her to everyone around them who stopped to look, even the security guard was laughing by then, and he was managing to hold it since he saw the sign at first. No good, since Dahyun caught on to everyone’s shenanigans and joins in.

 

“ _ Look, Chaeyoung, they are here. I told you they were waiting! _ ” Chou senior points out, side hugging the girl and making sure she caught the attention of as many people as she could.

 

The whole point was to make Tzuyu feel avenged already so they could have a nice week together. A sex change operation was a way to get the smaller one on the spot light, maybe some people would stop and congratulate her, and make it all as embarrassing as possible, and as loud as they would be allowed to be in the airport. Sure enough, a few people congratulated the girl, some just sent supportive thumbs ups, and the group was adamant on their mission to make Chaeyoung suffer.

 

The ruckus died down soon enough, one of the guards on the gate gestured for them to get moving, and Jihyo managed to get them all going. Chan wasn’t back yet, so she had to put up with the messy couple on her own. A little further from the gate, already on a less crowded area and with the sign rolled up properly, it was time for the two girls who were so close, yet so far from each other to introduce themselves.

 

“You must be Chou senior. I’m-”

 

“Im junior, I figured. Dahyun, it’s very nice to meet you, finally.”

 

“Jihyo. And yeah, it’s good to be introduced properly.”

 

They greet each other, despite the other girls making a mess around them, it was a good morning, but they were all hungry, rowdy and looking to rest a little, each for their own reasons. Mina and Dahyun for being tired of trying to keep Tzuyu from lounging at Chaeyoung, this one for having her ankle hurting again, the other for trying not to kill anyone. Jihyo for trying to make them all lunch while controlling Nayeon and Momo, the eldest because she was trying to buy anything and everything on the market, the peach because she just wanted to eat and nobody was allowing her to. 

 

Soon enough, they were all on Jihyo’s dorm, Amy was out for the week again, this time travelling with her boyfriend, Felix and his boyfriend, a cute Lee Siblings getaway, as Momo had put it. Truly, Jihyo knew Amy was just trying to get into her boyfriend’s pants, the boy was very adamant on not taking the step until they were a bit older, but that didn’t stop her, props for Eric, right?! Now here they are, waiting for Jihyo to finish lunch, the girls that just arrived taking turns to wash up, Dahyun had secured going in first under the guise of being the only one capable of helping with lunch. 

 

“Here I am, what do you want help with?” Chou senior asks as she enters the kitchen.

 

“Can you manage those vegetables over there?” Jihyo asks, pointing to the cutting board.

 

“What are you planning with them?”

 

“Just some meat stew, you know, something tasty and that will amount to a lot of food not costing much?!”

 

“I get exactly what you are trying to say. This past week I was doing the same. I never thought Chae could eat that much being that small, Choco was expected, but not the other two.”

 

They laugh, seems like both were having the same struggles the last few days, Dahyun seemed to be a really nice girl, Jihyo noticed. The paler one also thought the same, and saw that this was not the frail, mistreated girl her sister and the others had described, maybe they should talk more later, Dubs could really learn a thing or two to help her out of this slump she’s been stuck on since her soulmate and girlfriend passed. Sure, things were better, but still, there was a lot to work through.


	44. 44

Their first day went out in a blurr, The girls were all excited, Jihyo was trying to stop them from destroying her dorm and Dahyun was looking forward to visiting her (potential) new college, while getting to know a new, very interesting, person. Everyone was having a blast, until Nayeon’s phone rang again, it was Sana, maybe they were finally over the initial shock and wanted some more clarity on what they saw that day. Jihyo had talked to them about it, and she was perfectly fine with how things turned out now.

 

The couple felt like they owed Chris a big thanks for whatever he did with their girl, mama and papa Im knew about it, Nayeon couldn’t wait to tell them and called the same night, speaking of her, she got her phone and told everyone to be silent and pretend they were not there. Sana and Jeongyeon didn’t need to know the others were there at all, especially Dahyun (they all thought the two fit well, but also knew the pale girl was not even close to being ready for anything romantic at the moment).

 

Truth be told, Chou senior had spoken up about it the first time they met, she said she was grateful when she found out Jihyo was the one to tell Tzuyu to just be by her side and not demand anything. Back then all she wanted was the comfort her sister gave her and that really pulled her out of the bad place she was in. Said appreciation grew to slight admiration when the others told her about Jihyo, she was impressed about this girl who went through a terrible patch and managed to remain fighting. Now that Dahyun had met her hero, she knew that woman was someone she needed in her life.

 

“Alright, I’m answering it. Remember, do NOT say anything.” Nayeon announced.

 

“Go ahead. Do you want us to go to another room?” Jihyo confirmed.

 

“Nah, I think I’ll just take Momo and go answer on your room.”

 

“Good idea. Tell us how it went.” Mina chips in.

 

And so the couple excused themselves heading out of the living room, Nayeon noticed how her little sister was excited to have someone who shared her passion for music to talk about it with, it made her happy to see. Not that Jihyo’s friends didn’t talk to her about it as well, but, they were all in different training programs, Chris was really the only one who was in composing as well, but he was going for EDM, an entirely different style from the girl, it was endearing to see her talking all those complicated stuff with someone from the same style.

 

“Hey Sana, what’s up?” Nayeon answers as soon as she settled on the bed.

 

“Hey, Nayeonnie. How are things?” The sheepish answer almost inaudible.

 

“What happened? Wanna talk about it?” The eldest knew what was going on, but never let it show.

 

“Well, there is the problem. Nothing really happened, but it still did?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Last time I called you were at Jihyo’s place, right?”

 

“Still am. But what about it? I’m sorry but Jihyo is not here right now, did you need to talk to her or something?” Nayeon eggs her on.

 

“Not really, but you showed us around and Jeongyeonnie and I noticed something on her back. I want to ask-” Sana chokes up a little.

 

“It’s okay, you can ask whatever, I’ll answer what I can.”

 

“Are her soulmate marks, perhaps, on her back? I mean, it was just a glimpse, and I can’t be very sure, but it felt familiar, like I knew what was there and it kind of called to me? I can’t explain properly, but Jeong says she felt the same.”

 

“I can’t answer that. I can tell you, though, that yes, her marks are on her back, and that’s as far as I can go.” Nayeon gives a sympathetic smile. “Everything else, you would have to talk to her about it. She is visiting in the near future, maybe you guys can manage to talk to her then. I can’t say anything else, though.”

 

“I understand. Thanks Nayeonnie.”

 

“No problem. Do you need something else?”

 

“Not really. I was just bothered by it, guess I’ll just have to endure until I can talk to Jihyo herself.”

 

“That you will. Now, try to be alright, and talk to Jeong, you two should help each other through this.”

 

“Okay.” Sana sounds dejected. “I’ll talk to you later.”

 

“Later.” Is all Im senior says before she hangs up.

 

Momo was perching on Jihyo’s desk chair the entire time. She knew not to get involved unless her girlfriend called, and was busying herself with some of the books she found there, from which she understood nothing. They took the time to be alone together for a while, the girls were outside, entertained with each other, and it would be hard to really have these quiet times together.

 

On the living room/dining room/kitchen, the other girls were animatedly filling Jihyo in on what they did the previous week, Tzuyu was very happy about having gone “mountain” climbing, it was an indoor facility where they build walls to climb. Mina said she had a lot of fun in the aquarium and was campaigning to go that week with everybody, her argument was that different cities had different aquariums and she needed to check it out herself. 

 

Dahyun and Chaeyoung just wanted to know about secret restaurants with killer menus and affordable prices, to which Jihyo said she didn’t know of any, but could ask the dorm head couple about it. Lastly, it came down to Chris, the (within the group) famous boyfriend that changed their little girl for the better. 

 

“So, Ji. When are we meeting this magic boy of yours?”


	45. 45

“Who do you mean?” Comes the confused response to Chaeyoung’s out-of-nowhere question.

 

“I hear you are a taken lady?” The shorter one continues.

 

“Oh, Chris?”

 

“We have a name, everybody.” 

 

“Chae, tone it down a little.” Mina tries to reprimand in a chuckle.

 

“Not a chance, our little girl is all grown up and has a boyfriend. I’m milking this for all it’s worth.” 

 

“Are they always like this?” Dahyun whispers, very amused, to the girl in question.

 

“It gets worse, don’t worry too much.” Jihyo whispers back the first part, before speaking up to the others. “You do remember I’m older, right? And he’s coming back tomorrow night, so you’ll meet him on wednesday.”

 

“And where might he be if not spending time with our precious little girl?” Tzuyu demands, hands on her hips.

 

“Right….. He is visiting his family, and they are coming back with him, so I might need to go over and meet the in-laws on wednesday. No worries, though, we already worked it out.”

 

“Meeting the in-laws already? So it’s serious?” Mina is the one to ask this time.

 

“I already did, though. Met them in a video call a few months ago, I’m just meeting them in person. But yeah, I guess it’s serious enough.” Jihyo answers with a fond smile.

 

“Now you HAVE to tell us about it.” Dahyun, surprisingly, is the one to ask this time.

 

“He is childhood friends with my roommate and her brother, so I met him as soon as I settled in. We became good friends trying to control the idiot siblings, the Lees are a handful sometimes.”

 

“The Lees?” The smallest one asks.

 

“Amy and Felix. My roommate and her brother.”

 

They all show their understanding and Jihyo continues.

 

“So, Chris and I began spending a lot of time together, and we also had a lot of classes together, meaning a lot of projects, then we began to talk more about ourselves, and he asked if I wanted to try dating, since we were pretty much a couple already. We just didn’t do much of the being affectionate part.”

 

“Aren’t you the cutest?!” Mina squeals and had to be restrained by Tzuyu.

 

“Sounds like he is a very good kid.”

 

“Chae, will you stop with the parent stuff? We all know you and we already know you are weird.” Dahyun tries to stop the girl.

 

“But-” Chaeyoung begins to defend herself.

 

“Or, maybe.” Jihyo cuts in. “You want to have another talk with me? This time in person?” She ends with a mischievous grin.

 

“Thank you, ma’am, I’ll be good now.” Is the answer from a, now, frightened girl.

 

“What happened in there, anyways?” Tzuyu remembers and asks.

 

“Just know you are better off never finding out.” Jihyo chuckles.

 

“Alright, who is up for a movie?” Dahyun is the one to dissolve the tension.

 

They all laugh a little and proceed to choose something to watch and spend some relaxing time together. There was a silent agreement that none really wanted to see angry Jihyo, ever. And Chaeyoung was back to trying to cope and forget those terrible moments in her life, she was too young to have that kind of trauma. As soon as the group begins to settle down for the movie, idiot couple #1 rejoins them.

 

“I just hope you two had the decency to change my sheets and air out the room.” 

 

“I don’t know what you are talking about, but I suddenly have to go back to your room.” Nayeon says, while she walks in and makes a U turn back, without stopping.

 

“I, suddenly, have to go help Nayeon.” Momo follows her girlfriend.

 

“How?” Dahyun asks, for Jihyo only.

 

“I know my sister. And Momo’s neck is covered with hickeys.” She answers to her kitchen assistant for the day.

 

As the duo finishes up with popcorn, snacks and juice (Jihyo had made a point to banish soda after Amy drank five liters of cola in one day and started convulsing the next morning), idiot couple #1 had come back, sweaty and clearly having rushed to clean up. The trio had picked up a thriller, despite Mina’s protests, and everyone settled down for some quality time and catching up.

 

Nobody knows when, but Sawako had showed up at some point and joined them, later they would find out their own dorm head, the poor woman’s boyfriend, had got captured by the drama club and blackmailed into helping out, so she was “single” for the next month, when the play would happen. The girls learned that the college drama club would always pay high for dirt on anyone and everyone, and use it whenever they needed extra hands for their plays, Francis happened to have destroyed the librarian’s flowers on his first week as a freshman, and that was his downfall. Drama club had the video.

 

Dahyun was truly entertained about these new people she was meeting, and began thinking changing colleges wouldn’t be that bad afterall. She just had to remember to not screw up, and if she did, never let herself be caught by the drama club.


	46. 46

This was exciting, much to Jihyo and Sawako’s demise, having to try and contain six bumbling baboons jumping around and finding absolutely everything interesting. Really, everything, Momo and Chaeyoung had stopped to take pictures with a water fountain and turned it into a photoshoot, until a very confused college student asked them to let him fill his bottle. Jihyo was hoping nobody she would come in contact with in two years saw and would remember her, and Sawako was just hoping she would never give another tour again (not likely, she was part of the PR committee).

 

The stressed out duo got to breathe a little when they arrived at the library, at least they were quiet for a few minutes, while the librarian showed them around. They even took the time to go to the bathroom, Jihyo had already toured before, and Sawako studied there, so both just agreed to trust the librarian and take care of some urgent business. Getting back to the library, they were relieved to find the librarian was still talking and none of their idiots got lost. Maybe they could manage today just fine.

 

“Can we climb that statue? I want to sit on his lap.” Nayeon asked when they entered the main square, it was somewhere near the library and held all the administrative buildings around it. 

 

“You can run around, not climb anything and try to not get lost. Sawa-chan and I are going to get something to drink for everyone and sit on the shade for a while.” Jihyo dismisses her troublemakers.

 

“Are you sure we can just leave them around here by themselves?” Sawako is genuinely worried.

 

“They will be fine, and the machines are just over there.” Jihyo points to the entrance of the administration building, really close to where they were.

 

“Alright, let’s go, then.” Their guide agrees.

 

It was just a matter of turning their backs to the group for two seconds and everything got out of control. Once they came back with the drinks, Nayeon was filming everything from her spot on Momo’s lap, who, in turn, was sitting on the shade and sporting a amused and relaxed expression, Dahyun was sitting beside them looking a lot like Momo. Mina was holding Tzuyu back (barely), while the youngest was trying to go for Chaeyoung. The tall girl had murder in her eyes and her smallest girlfriend was terrified, curled in a ball and visibly shaking near a tree. It all connected.

 

“Do I have to kill you, Son Chaeyoung? I will not hesitate to murder you and hide your body so well not even god will find you!” Tzuyu was seething.

 

“Yu, please breathe.” Mina, having to make a gigantic effort to hold the girl back.

 

“You know, Chae, if I e.v.e.r. catch wind of you trying to be funny again, I’ll let Tzuyu do what she just promised. And be sure, I’ll hide your body myself. Do you understand?” Jihyo promises, whispering ‘calmly’ to Chaeyoung.

 

“Ye-yes ma’am.” The frightened girl struggles to answer.

 

“Good, now get up and properly apologise to them. Tzuyu is tired of trying to stop you and Mina already has enough on her plate without having to control your giant.” It’s still low enough so just the troublemaker #1 hears.

 

“I’m very sorry for what I did, and I promise it will never happen again. I’ll do better in the future and just hope you can forgive me!” Chaeyoung almost shouts, getting up from where she was and dropping on her knees in front of her girlfriends.

 

“We heard that before.” Mina says, tired, but relieved their girlfriend had stopped struggling.

 

“I don’t trust words, I trust actions.” Tzuyu had a cold voice and blank expression.

 

“I’ll show you.” the kneeling girl pleads.

 

“We’ll see.” Mina says, ending the discussion and dragging Tzuyu away to sit on the shade and calm down.

 

“ _ What happened? _ ” Sawako, although amused, was a little worried.

 

“ _ Oh, they are like that, don’t stress yourself too much. Chae has this thing with trees, she broke her ankle not long ago, and Tzu was the one trying to stop her from climbing. Then she tried again last week and got the same ankle swollen. Right now it seems she was about to do it again, and Tzuyu seems to have had enough. Mina is always trying to prevent a murder, she also gets very angry, but has to keep it together and try to stop one girlfriend from killing the other. _ ” Jihyo explains, watching her friends settle down.

 

“ _ Oh _ .” Sawako is still trying to process.

 

“ _ Yeah. _ ”

 

“ _ But trees? _ ”

 

“ _ Don’t ask, nobody knows and I don’t really want to find out. _ ” 

 

“ _ Yes ma’am. Should we get a move on, or do we wait around a bit more? _ ”

 

“ _ We are almost done, no? _ ”

 

“ _ There is only the music department building. We aren’t really going to see everything, just the main areas and the music department. _ ”

 

“ _ Good planning. When do we have to leave, though? _ ”

 

“ _ We have to leave around two, which gives us another two and a half hours. _ ”

 

“ _ Let’s let them play around for a while longer, then. Half an hour should be fine. _ ”

 

“ _ Sure thing. I’m going to make a call real quick, then. You okay to watch them? _ ”

 

“ _ They are not going to give us any more trouble. And I’ll be fine. _ ”

 

“ _ Alright. Be right back. _ ” And so, the woman stands up and gets a little further away.

 

Jihyo just chuckles a little, and goes back to watching the group, things seemed to have quieted down a little. Dahyun, Mina and Tzuyu were talking, Chaeyoung was sulking, having rolled herself into a ball, close to them, but not daring to speak. Nayeon and Momo were just cuddling and letting the trio entertain them. The good part of Chae’s earlier mess up, if they had to look on the bright side, was that there would be no more trouble from them.

 

“Nayeonnie, would you, please, tell me you didn’t send that video to our parents.” Mina asks.

 

“I didn’t send the video to our parents.” Nayeon says in a mechanical voice, obviously not sincere at all.

 

“Chae is going to be in a lot of trouble when we get back.” The penguin concludes.

 

“At least, you could take Tzu on dates without having to worry about her, as she will be home, grounded, for the rest of her life.” Momo chimes in.

 

“That is very true. I mean, I love her, but it gets tiring. And I want to be angry too, but Yucchan gets out of control and I don’t really want her to hurt Chaeng, we all know she will feel really bad when she calms down.”

 

“Now, that, is very true. Thanks for taking care of our youngests.” Nayeon says sincerely.

 

“They are a handful, but they are my handfuls.” Mina smiles fondly, looking at nothing specific.

 

They do make conversation for a while, Jihyo approaches the group, telling them to get on their feet, they were heading to the music building. Dahyun jumps to her feet and demands they leave immediately, bouncing on her heels and walking away to whatever random direction she decided was the correct one. They all laugh and get moving, Jihyo goes after the pale girl who forgot she didn’t have a clue as to where to go.


	47. 47

Jihyo was the only one to be up when Momo got to the living room. The tour got Dahyun and Chaeyoung too excited and they went on until, almost, early morning, Mina and Tzuyu had stayed up to make sure none of the two would set the house on fire, or get themselves arrested, Amy was hyping up the duo until she crashed, around two a.m. Nayeon just wanted to sleep a little longer, she had gone to bed with Momo and Jihyo around eleven, but mumbled to her girlfriend to leave her be that morning.

 

That was the chance the peach was looking for, she had been meaning to talk about how Jihyo was a whole new person after a year apart, how this new relationship was working for her, what has she been up to. Don’t get her wrong, she was very happy that these things happened, this Jihyo right now was who they always wanted the girl to be, and if she found people that helped her get to that, it was wonderful, even if she had to get away for that. But Momo wanted to understand how things happened, and she knew Nayeon was avoiding the topic on purpose.

 

“Morning, Ji. Slept well?” 

 

“Hey, Mo. I did, despite the noise. I’m about to go run, and get some groceries for breakfast on the way back, want to come?”

 

“Sure do! Just give me a few minutes.”

 

“There’s no rush. I’ll be here stretching.”

 

“Wait for me! I want to stretch too!” Momo whines a little and goes change.

 

Jihyo chuckles a little, her sister in-law (kinda) was very cute, these unconscious moments were endearing to her, she got how Nayeon could go hours talking about how cute Momo was that day (it had happened before). So, she just went to the kitchen to get them water bottles for both, while Momo was changing, might as well wait up so they could stretch together.

 

Momo, on her side, was trying to move faster, she didn’t want to make Jihyo wait too long, and her curiosity was taking the best of her, so the first proper-ish outfit she found was the one she went with, maybe some more thought should have gone into that, but when she noticed, they would already be at the market. So, there they were, stretching on the small space they still had on the living room, given how their friends managed to spread out and take the whole place, Jihyo would scold them and demand they clean up later that morning, but now, just let them sleep.

 

“So, are you going to talk to me, or are you going to keep stalling?” Jihyo asks some time into their run.

 

“What?” Momo halts, trying to catch her breath.

 

“I know you want to talk to me about something. You are not the most subtle in hiding things from me, you know?!” Jihyo had stopped as well, and was looking for a bench.

 

“I tried, though.” Momo pouts a little and goes sit down under a tree, the sun was too bright that day.

 

“I know, and you did great. Now, talk to me.” Jihyo follows.

 

“I want to know about your life here.”

 

“What about it?”

 

“Everything. What happened to you, how did you become this strong woman, what part did Chris play in this change. All of it.”

 

“Oh, alright. You do remember I was in a very bad place when I came, right?” Momo just nods. “So, when I got here, I really had nobody to rely on, you guys were back in Korea, so Francis thought it would be good to introduce me to his girlfriend. Like, mom and dad talked to him, and he has been trying to take care of me ever since, but Sawa-chan said he asked her to take care of me too, because there are some things I should talk about with a woman.”

 

“I like them, they are very nice.” The older one gives a small smile.

 

“They are, and both are a very important part on how I got better.”

 

“Tell me everything.”

 

“Well, Chris and the Lees were good and all, but they are teens just like me, some things I needed some older guidance with. Francis took care of me like an older brother, he taught me to cook and helped me with homework whenever he could. Sawa-chan took me to the gym to get some more strength and helped me be more confident as a woman.”

 

“Can’t say I’m not thankful to them. I think you wouldn’t be able to be this well if you didn’t come here. I’m just happy you found great people to help you out.” Momo brings Jihyo into a warm hug.

 

“I got lucky.”

 

“And what about that ‘wonderful’ boyfriend of yours?”

 

“Chris is great, you know his flower withered when he was a toddler, right? So, he grew up knowing he would never have his soulmate with him. Then he became friends with Amy, they were in the same class, if I’m not mistaken, and then he met Felix a while later, then he fell for his best friend, Fe, not Amy.”

 

“And I’m taking that Felix never felt the same way?”

 

“Not at all, and Chris got to watch the guy he loved date many others, but never him. It didn’t help that Felix likes girls, exclusively. Chris took it all and learned how to move forward, you know, live his own life, be his own person, and now we are dating. He helped me to come to terms with not being with my soulmate, and accept that, sometimes, things don’t work out the way we want them to.”

 

“Sounds like I should treat him sometime.” Momo tightens the hug a little more.

 

“Maybe you should. He is really great, you know.”

 

“I can see you like him very much. Maybe Nadumb and I should take him out before we leave.”

 

“I think you two would see why I like him so much on your own.” Jihyo answers before getting a playful glint in her eyes. “And I’m so telling that you called her Nadumb.”

 

“Go ahead, I’ll tell her you kissed me and asked me to not tell her.” Momo smirks victoriously.

 

“I didn’t ki-” Jihyo gets interrupted by a quick peck on her lips from the older girl.

 

Momo springs to her feet and starts walking away, towards the market so they could get what they needed for breakfast. Might as well just get things done before the troublemakers wake up, but Jihyo had an eerie feeling Nayeon would be waiting for them to arrive, and she would have this conversation all over again. It didn’t bother her, though, she was someone else now, she was a person that didn’t cling to the past so much now. Might as well show everyone she was.


	48. 48

“ _ Why am I here, again? _ ” Chris asks, looking at the group causing havoc on the aquarium.

 

“ _ Because you wanted to meet my friends, we were coming here today and you, yourself, said you wanted to tag along. _ ” Jihyo answers with a smug smile.

 

“ _ Alright, never let me say I want to go out with you all together again. _ ”

 

“ _ Stop being so dramatic, they are very well behaved today. And we will be fine, as long as we don’t get kicked out. _ ”

 

“ _ So, there IS a chance we get kicked out! _ ” Chris huffs in fake annoyance.

 

“ _ Quit the drama, will you?! And, can you make some time tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? _ ” Jihyo get a bit more serious.

 

“ _ I think I can make it the day after tomorrow, that’s friday, right? I think I can do friday morning. _ ” He ponders aloud.

 

“ _ Great, I wanted us to go out with Dahyun a little. _ ”

 

“ _ Dahyun? How so? _ ” He looks really confused.

 

“ _ She’s been through some rough patches recently. I think talking to you should help, even if a little.” _

 

_ “Is it because of my withered bud?” _

 

_ “That would be correct. But no real pressure, I just want you two to meet. Yucchin said it might be a good idea for us to talk to her, but I don’t think this type of conversation is going to happen anytime soon.” _

 

_ “It’s not really something one just goes around telling about, that’s for sure.” _

 

_ “True that, but she is just over at Alberta, we can hang out often.” _

 

_ “Yes we can. So, friday morning, we can go to that coffee shop you worked at in the beginning of the year.” _

 

_ “They do have great cake.” _

 

_ “Glad you understand me so well.” _

 

_ “It’s kind of, sorta, my job to. I am your girlfriend, afterall.” _

 

_ “Good, so go save me from your friends.” _ Chris says as he pushes Jihyo in front of him.

 

“ _ Wha-” _ Jihyo gets interrupted by Mina barreling into her.

 

“Minnie, I love you, but I will NOT hesitate to whoop that pasty ass of yours.” Jihyo laughs out.

 

“Alright, first off, you WISH you had this ass!” Mina gasps.

 

“Everyone knows I can get that ass whenever I want.” Jihyo interjects.

 

“And you can’t hurt a fly, your threats are futile.” Mina looks triumphant.

 

“Right. But what did you come crashing for?” Jihyo just gives up.

 

“Oh, right. We are thinking of stopping for lunch.”

 

“Lunch sounds great right now.” Chris cuts his girlfriend before she can protest. 

 

“Great.” Mina chirps. “Let’s go eat, chicas!” 

 

“Wrong language, Minnie.” Chaeyoung laughs, when Mina shouts the last part.

 

They all had been at the aquarium since early morning, Chris had showed up around eight, and they left not much later. It was around two now, honestly time to eat, but Jihyo had been trying to push it, maybe stall until they are back home and make food instead of buying it at ridiculous prices. But she was alone on that quest, so it failed when nobody else was willing to wait any longer.

 

It was a good day, despite the group being very hyper. Chris got exhausted not long after lunch, he had a great time, though, and managed to talk to Dahyun a little, with Jihyo’s help, amidst the chaos the group was being. The three got along very well, and managed to make some light conversation about their studies, Dahyun’s transfer, anything they knew for sure they had in common. By the end of the day, all headed back to the dorm, Chris said he couldn’t stay longer, his family was waiting for him to get back, and there was dinner, which Jihyo had to get ready for, before they would come by to pick her up.

 

Obviously, the girls were having the time of their lives doing whatever they could think of to get Jihyo annoyed and screaming with them, except Mina and Tzuyu, who were sitting on the girl’s bed and giving actual advice, the others had been banned from the room when the girl lost her patience. They settled for some simple jeans and t-shirt, there was no point dressing up for real, when they were just going to a steakhouse and Im junior was a teenager, nobody should expect her to do much more than clean clothes anyways.

 

When she was done, Nayeon entered the room and demanded to have some sister time, taking Jihyo outside to wait for Chris’ parents to arrive and talk a little. All just hugged their friend and wished her good luck.

 

“Okay, we are alone. Talk to me.” Jihyo said when they got to the reception.

 

“Are you sure you are alright?”

 

“I’m great, unnie. It’s alright, Chris has been great, and we are good together. You don’t have to worry about this, not right now, anyways. I promise I’ll come to you if anything ever goes wrong, but we are fine.”

 

“But meeting his parents? Isn’t it kind of early for that?”

 

“You met Momo’s entire family weeks after you two got together.”

 

“Not the point right now, and Momo is my soulmate.” As soon as the word leave Nayeon’s mouth, she regrets them.

 

“And how is this any different?” Jihyo remains smiling kindly, not a hint of aggression. “He is my boyfriend, I already met his parents and this is just a formality. I promise I’m alright.”

 

“I’m sorry, that was a shitty thing to say. Come here.” She, then, envelops her little sister in a hug. “Unnie made a dick move, and I’m sorry. It’s just, I’m worried about you.”

 

“I know, unnie, I understand. But you don’t have to worry about this, not about Chris and I, not now anyways. We can talk soon, the two of us, but I would love if you could trust him a little more, trust us a little more.”

 

“I try, Ji. But it’s hard for me I don’t want to see you like that again. Your soulmates didn’t have that great effect on you.”

 

“You won’t. Chris isn’t my soulmate, and he doesn’t have his too. We both know how bad it can get, being denied the one you were meant to be with, in different ways, but we know.”

 

“I’ll back off, but I still need that talk when you come over for Christmas.”

 

“I promise, now get back up there, Chris is here.” Jihyo hugs her sister goodbye and goes of with the boy that just showed up by the door.

 

Nayeon just watches them leave, her heart tight, but trusting her little girl to make decisions for herself. She makes her way back when the car is out of sight, Momo was waiting for her at the couch, knowing it was time for cuddles and reassurance. The trio and Dahyun had prepared snacks and blankets already prepared, it ended up with everyone just sleeping halfway through the movie, having exhausted themselves that day. 

 

When jihyo got home, she was happy, the sight she was met with warmed her heart and she just put the blankets over her lovely troublemakers and went to sleep with the biggest smile on her face. The girls had fallen asleep on each other, Nayeon in the middle, everyone else hugging her tightly.


	49. 49

“Has anyone seen my pink socks?” Nayeon screams through the dorm.

 

“I gave them to you half an hour ago!” Mina shouts back from the living room.

 

“Has anyone else seen my pink socks after Mina gave them to me?”

 

“It’s on your suitcase already, unnie.” Jihyo comes into her room having some coffee.

 

“I don’t see it.” 

 

Jihyo silently goes to the suitcase Nayeon was supposed to be packing, reaches in and pulls out said pair of socks, leaving the room right after, still silently drinking her coffee. They were all packing to go visit Dahyun now, it was friday morning, everyone had woken up really early to be sure they were all set to go, Jihyo had packed the previous night, with Mina, Dahyun and Tzuyu (surprisingly), the others were too busy with an impromptu photoshoot with the new mail cabinet that had been installed the previous afternoon.

 

“Hyunnie, Chris said he will be here in five, are you ready? We should head downstairs.” Jihyo asks when she heads to put her mug on the sink.

 

“I’m ready, let’s go!” The pale girl jumps up from her place in the couch.

 

“Alright, we’ll see you all later, good luck with those three.” Jihyo shoots over her shoulder, putting on her shoes.

 

“And you all have fun. Bring us something to eat, maybe?” Tzuyu asks, still in the couch.

 

“Will try. Don’t set the place on fire.” Dahyun waves goodbye before leaving.

 

As soon as they leave, the three girls pretending to pack come back into the living room, it was easy, Dahyun was excited to make new friends in this foreign land, and Jihyo just stopped caring about it around the third item Nayeon screamed about having lost, that was in her suitcase already. Truly, everyone was ready the day before, and they were all just putting on a show so their friends wouldn’t think they might follow them, which was exactly what the group was about to do.

 

Nayeon thought she needed to see how her little baby sister was treated by her boyfriend, Tzuyu just wanted to make sure Dahyun was comfortable going out with possible new friends, that happened to already be a couple. The other three were in it just for the thrill of following people, they would have done that for the dinner with the in-laws, but they went off in a car and it became impossible. This time, however, they were heading to one of Jihyo’s previous jobs, and Momo knew where to go and it was close enough so they didn’t need to be immediately behind their targets.

 

“Why are we here again?” Chaeyoung questions when they settle down in a table across the shop.

 

“Because we are curious gossipers and want to see for ourselves what is happening.” Mina says, matter-of-factly.

 

“Right, and why are we in this ridiculous disguises that only make it more obvious it’s us?” The shorter one continues.

 

“For the drama, now be quiet, you are ruining it.” Nayeon scolds a little.

 

Chaeyoung just rolls her eyes and goes back to snuggling into Tzuyu and sipping her strawberry milkshake. The trio was sitting on a table at the back, across the shop, which was quite big so they couldn’t really hear anything, but it didn’t seem to matter for Mina and Nayeon, who were way too invested in this spying thing. Tzuyu and Chaeyoung had tagged along just not to be left out, and Momo went along for the food. 

 

It was all very fun and whatnot, for half an hour, then Mina and Nayeon got bored and the others had finished eating, so they all just decided to leave and go do whatever, nothing interesting was happening and they couldn’t hear anything anyways. That, and the trio was looking like they were about to leave, and ‘getting caught’ wasn’t on their plans. They were as subtle as a mammoth in an antique shop, and all three had seen them as soon as they entered the shop, they just made an agreement to not bother with their lovely idiots and just enjoy their time out.

 

“I’m kind of pissed, a little.” Nayeon lets out when they arrive at a park close to Jihyo’s dorm.

 

“You are just mad because you couldn’t hear anything and had to pay for my food if you wanted me to come.” Momo lets out, sitting under the shade and pulling her girlfriend to sit on her lap.

 

“That might be true, but not what I want to hear right now.” The eldest mumbles but still cuddles into Momo’s embrace.

 

“At least they looked like they were getting along pretty well.” Chaeyoung offers, trying to make herself comfortable in Mina’s lap, who was sitting between Tzuyu’s legs.

 

“Let’s hope this works.” Tzuyu speaks up, earning confused looks. “Unnie has been pretty down ever since Vernon passed away.”

 

“He was her soulmate, right?” Mina tries to piece everything together.

 

“Yeah, they were really happy together, and he died saving the boy that bullied unnie.” The youngest, for the first time, talks about it.

 

“Are you sure you are ready to talk about it?” Chaeyoung asks.

 

Despite being a dumbass normally, Chaeyoung was the most perceptive among the trio, and always seemed to know what her girls needed and how they were feeling.

 

“I’m sure. I mean, if unnie is talking to them about it, I may as well let it out.” 

 

“How do you know she is?” Momo is truly confused.

 

“I know my sister, and, unlike you fools, I actually paid attention to them. Hyunnie is talking about it, I don’t think she is telling them absolutely everything, but she was talking about it anyways.”

 

“Then we are all ears.” Chaeyoung offers, with a small squeeze in her taller girlfriend’s hand.

 

“There is not really much more for me to say. It’s just, I know my sister, and I know she will never really talk to me about whatever happened, and those two know what she might be feeling. Like, not exactly the same, but both of them know what she is going through, in some way.”

 

“You said they weren’t dating back then. But they knew each other?” Mina offers, as a way to help Tzuyu go on.

 

“Well, they were really close, I think they dated for a while, but unnie got offered the scholarship and Vernon refused to have her stay and give up the chance, so they agreed to not be a couple while they were apart, to give each other the chance for new experiences, I don’t really know. But, the night Vernon died, unnie said one of their close friends saw it happen and told her that Vernon was trying to get the boy to not throw himself from their building, and he fell instead. Something about not having been strong enough to pull it off, and he fell while pushing the other guy inside.” Tzuyu sighs deeply, finally letting it out. “The guy still goes to our house looking for unnie, saying he has to talk to her, but refuses to give us his phone number, saying that going there to see if she is around is part of whatever.”

 

“Seems like he is regretting a lot of things. But, if those two could help even a little, then we can’t tell them not to. Let’s just wait and see.” Mina comforts.

 

The group drifts off to telling each other what they did in the week they were apart, then whatever topic they could come up with, until Nayeon gets a text from Jihyo, telling them Dahyun and her had been waiting for hours and got hungry already, so they should meet up for lunch fast, they still needed to get to the airport. It was almost two p.m. and none had noticed how late it got while they were talking. Worst part was, Chaeyoung was still using that damn boot and running was out of the question, so Nayeon just shot a text to Jihyo with the name for the first restaurant they came across, that looked suitable enough for them, and told her to just grab Dahyun and go find them.

 

Time was running out, so Jihyo just rolled with it, both girls knew it was all about Chaeyoung not being able to walk too well, and they just shot a text with what they wanted to eat, and had Nayeon order for them in advance, it was a popular chain, so they had an idea on what to order. Dahyun had been having a great time with Chris and Jihyo, she told them a little about herself and learned their own history with soulmates and all, she thought it was nice to have people who understood her. Don’t get her wrong, she loved her family that was trying their best to cheer her up, but there were things she couldn’t really talk to them about.

 

By the end of her very first visit to Winnipeg, Dahyun was certain that changing colleges and working on a friendship with THE Im Jihyo was one of the best decisions she could have come to.


	50. 50

“Alright, should we get some takeout? I don’t see the point in cooking right now.” Dahyun suggests.

 

“I mean, yeah. But is there anything still being delivered at this time?” Jihyo questions.

 

“We have pizza, chicken and thai still delivering.” Dahyun checks. “What do you all want?”

 

“How about pizza and chicken?” Momo ponders and the rest agrees.

 

“Alright.” The pale girl agrees, phone in hand. “It’s gonna be about forty minutes.”

 

They had just arrived at Dahyun’s house, and it was past eleven already, Jihyo, having lived in Canada for almost as long as the other, knew it was hard to find much still being delivered after ten, especially in schools districts like the one they’re at, during vacation time, looks like they got lucky.

 

Much to Jihyo’s surprise, Dahyun actually lived in a house, it was a school provided dorm, but it wasn’t a building, it was a house with a lot of rooms, and they had a teacher that lived with them, it felt weird, but alright. Whatever works, Jihyo thinks. And Dahyun’s school wasn’t directly affiliated with any university, so it wasn’t like they could just assign college students to manage their high schoolers.

 

“I can hear you thinking.” Nayeon mocks, sitting beside Jihyo in the back porch.

 

“It just feels weird that this is a student dorm, but it’s a house. I mean, I get where they are coming from, but still.”

 

“And now what are you really thinking about?” Im senior has a knowing smile.

 

“Hmmm.” Jihyo hums before answering. “Nothing much, really. I was just thinking this is nice, I missed you, all of you, and Dahyun is better than you guys made her up to be.”

 

“She is great. And we missed you too. I missed you too, I’m your big sister afterall.” The older one moves closer and gets her sister on her lap for a tight hug.

 

“I still need to breathe, though.” Jihyo tries to chuckle.

 

Nayeon doesn’t let go, but releases the hug a little anyways. They stay like that for a while, until Momo comes out and calls them for dinner, the girls were already settling down to eat, and, when both come back inside, the older lags behind a little to wipe the silent tears that escaped her, she missed her little girl, and she was really happy her baby sister was doing so well. That little moment they just shared brought up a surge of emotions she wasn’t ready to face just then. Momo just held her hand and brought her to the table, they could talk about that later.

 

Before anyone could notice, the week at Dahyun’s house was over, they were tired out, Jihyo was a little more broke than she hoped to be, and became really good friends with Chou senior, who looked like she took a liking to her and her boyfriend, having bonded over their passion for music and how hard their course was. But all the girls were pretty happy about having spent time together, and could barely wait for christmas break, when their stranded members would come back and visit.


	51. 51

“ _ Okay, why is that here? And how did we end up in this position? _ ” Dahyun almost screams, very annoyed.

 

“ _ Alright, calm down, Dubs. We are going to get you out, but you need to stop fighting. _ ” Chris laughs.

 

“ _ Don’t you calm down, Dubs me! What is this creature doing here, when I warned you I was coming over?!” _ She points at the very small and very harmless pup sleeping in the other corner of the room.

 

After having met, and after Dahyun had decided she was changing her choice for universities, Chris, Jihyo and herself have gotten along really well, the months passed, and they had been to each other’s places a few times, they even had a sleep over at Chris’ dorm, which was really hard to pull off, because Sawako was the one responsible for said dorm building, and the woman was very much NOT about to allow her babies any funny business (she had claimed the trio as such in Dahyun’s second visit).

 

They were at the boy’s dorm again, the three wanted to work on some songs they were creating together, and Amy had put her foot down, saying she was tired and they always worked there, so here they were. Problem was, Chris had gotten a new roommate a few weeks prior, Felix got switched because their room was on the first floor and the new kid had a companion dog that could only be placed on ground floor (it was decided in a draw between all first floor rooms). The dog was just a few months old, couldn’t really hurt a fly, a rather small dachshund that had just passed training for ptsd companion dog. 

 

“ _ Dubs, it’s a puppy, a service dog that isn’t even awake anymore.” _ Jihyo huffs out, she had enough. “ _ Now let Chris get you down from that cabinet and let’s get to work.” _ Her tone is so definitive that Dahyun feels a little ashamed.

 

The girl accepts the help, going back to the table in the middle of the room in silence, still wary of the dog. Truth be told, the pup wasn’t even looking at her, too relaxed and busy sleeping. Chris’ new roommate was a korean, just like the girls, very nice boy called Jisung, from what was quickly explained, he had a very bad happening recently and was sent away to avoid being surrounded by the memories that triggered terrible episodes. Jihyo had met him the day after he moved, but Dahyun still hadn’t, she had visited about a month prior, and he arrived after that.

 

“ _ Okay, what do we want to do, review something, work on those that are half done or brainstorm for a while?” _ Chris asks when they are settled.

 

“ _ I wanted to review the ones we finished last time, sometimes I think something is missing, but I can’t really tell what.” _ Jihyo asks, thinking about the four songs they had managed to finish two weeks ago when they went to Alberta.

 

“ _ I don’t mind. Who plays?” _ Dahyun agrees, she, too, had some doubts about those songs.

 

“ _ I’ll play. You two write the sheets neater than I do.”  _ Jihyo gets up to get the keyboard that was tucked in the corner of the room.

 

They start playing the songs, discussing where each felt things should change, or what didn’t feel right, Rob (the dog) had woken up, but didn’t really bother to move, and was sat in his bed watching them work. It had been a couple of hours of work when a new face (for Dahyun) entered through the door, Rob shooting out of his bed to greet the new arrival. A short boy, with a gentle face walked in, a very amiable smile upon seeing his companion greet him with enthusiasm.

 

“ _ Oh, he-hello. My naemi issu Han Jisung.” _ The boy greets the new girl with difficulty.

 

“Hello, I’m Chou Dahyun. It’s very nice to meet you.” She greets, a wave of relief can be seen washing over the boy’s features.

 

“Oh, you speak korean. I’m Han Jisung, nice meeting you too.” A kind smile makes an appearance in the boy’s features.

 

“My pleasure. I’m the one you always hear in those, very late night, video calls with these two.” The pale girl laughs.

 

“It’s nice to put a face to the voice. They talk a lot about you.”

 

“And I’ll be asking about that soon. I’m sorry for the noise, but we are working in some songs, want to join?” Dahyun offers one of her kind and happy smiles.

 

“I’ll take a shower first, never knew I would have to catch up with p.e.” Jisung laughs and makes his way to his room, Rob following.

 

“ _ He is very nice.”  _ Dahyun comments when the door closes.

 

“ _ He is, and we are making sure you two are never alone together.” _ Chris answers.

 

“ _ Why? Did you say something compromising? I must talk to him now.”  _ Hyun mocks, but they all quickly go back to their task.

 

It was a while before Jisung came back, mentioning he was hungry, and reminding the group they had skipped lunch and were about to skip dinner, had they not been reminded to eat just then. They decide that it would be faster to just go out and buy something on one of the restaurants across the street, so they did a quick rock, papers, scissors, Dahyun and Jisung being the ones to go and buy it, much to the couple’s dismay. And so the duo went, Rob had his little service jacket on, and Dahyun found herself not minding the small companion at all.

 

They decide for some fried chicken and noodles, and make their way to place the order for the chicken and telling the worker that they would be just next door ordering some spaghetti and would come back to pick up their order soon. It was a smooth process, when they get back to the chicken place, Dahyun checks and learns there will be another ten minutes, they had enough small talk to break the awkwardness, so she decides it was as good time as any to ask.

 

“Tell me, what do those two say about me?” She asks, never having being one for tiptoeing around anything.

 

“Are you really that curious?” He laughs, but gets a nod in response. “Alright, but promise you won’t be mad.”

 

“Why would I be mad? Is it something bad?”

 

“Not at all, and Jihyo noona explained it already. But, the way they talk about you, it’s like you three are dating each other, I thought Chris was dating both you and Jihyo at first, but then she talked about you and I thought they were both dating you and each other.”

 

“I’m touched. Truth be told, I wouldn’t mind if we were, but I’ve been through a rough patch not too long ago, and both helped me a lot. I like them both, and I’m sure, at some degree, it’s mutual, but we never really went there. Mostly, because I was dating my soulmate, but he died about a year ago and those two are the reason I can talk about it like this today.” Dahyun has a comforting smile the entire time.

 

The months she had spent with Jihyo and Chris were vital to her development, she had learned to trust the two, and they welcomed her with open arms, holding her hand and bringing her along in their growth journey. She was not that frightened and closed off teen that met two very confident people who knew how to help her and never denied her of their kindness. Right now, Dahyun was someone else entirely, ready to accept and face everything that came her way, because she knew she had two people who will have her back no matter what, as much as she will have theirs.

 

“I’m sorry to hear that. But I’m happy you are better.” 

 

“Thanks, kiddo. Now, let’s not tell them what we really talked about, and just play along with me, alright?” The mischievous glint in Dahyun’s eyes is enough for Jisung’s curiosity to peak, and make him agree with whatever it was.

 

When they enter the apartment, Dahyun has this look that tells them she knows something, but she never mentions it, whatsoever, and the couple are on edge, trying to figure out what she might have found out. Truth be told, Jihyo and Chris had been talking for a while now, both having admitted to their own feelings towards the pale girl, the couple had a strict policy to always be completely honest, no matter what, and they would abide to that at all times.

 

Jihyo was the first one to confess her attraction and interest towards the girl, it was around two months after the entire group had visited, and they had already begun their (almost) daily calls and frequent visits to one another. She said she wasn’t intending to do anything about it, but wanted Chris to know what was happening. Christopher confessed he was developing the same interest not long after, they had been really great together, and it was very difficult to not like Dahyun, though he was not looking at the girl like that at first, he started to consider it after Jihyo spoke up.

 

So both had agreed that it was alright, and would be understandable if one (or both) wished to make a move on the girl. None really intended to go forward with their feeling for the moment, Dahyun was just getting better, and both thought it wasn’t the time back then. But that was a few months ago, and the girl in question had been thinking about how it would be to date one of them, both at the same time hadn’t really crossed her mind, but now that it was mentioned, she couldn’t not think about it.

 

“ _ Are you going to tell us?” _ Jihyo asks, after Jisung had turned in for the night.

 

They had dinner and talked about their songs a bit more, then settled down to watch whatever was on tv. It wasn’t long before Jisung had excused himself, saying he should go to sleep already and retreating to his room, Jihyo had waited a few minutes, making sure the boy wasn’t coming back out before speaking up.

 

“ _ I don’t have anything to say, though?” _ Chris answers, maybe he was more sleepy than they thought.

 

“ _ No, hun, I’m talking to Dubs over here. _ ” Jihyo laughs and kisses his cheek. _ “She has been giving us this weird look ever since she got back from getting dinner. Now, are you going to speak or not?” _

 

Dahyun looks like she was caught red handed, not that she really did anything wrong, but she just huffs, shuffles a little and takes a deep breath, but doesn’t look like she’s about to speak up, so Jihyo decides to say what she had been keeping from her, intending to draw a reaction from the girl, she had a feeling it was something of the matter, by how Dahyun had been looking at them since she returned.

 

“ _ Dahyun, can you look at me for a while?”  _ Jihyo asks, sitting up to look at the girl properly, who just nods and looks at her. “ _ Dahyun, I like you.” _

 

_ “I like you too, both of you. But why are you saying it now?” _ Chou looks confused.

 

“ _ No, not like that, I mean I LIKE you, like you. The same way I like Chris, like you.” _

 

Jihyo was looking so serious Dahyun understood she wasn’t pulling any kind of twisted prank. But she was confused, Jihyo was saying she liked her, and Chris, the boyfriend, was looking too calm about it, rubbing Jihyo’s back and kissing her cheek.

 

“ _ Okay, I don’t get it, I mean, I understand what you are saying, but how are you both so casual about it? And how are you still calm?”  _ Dahyun rambles, directing the last question to Chris, who just chuckles before answering.

 

“ _ That would be because I feel the same about you, and we talked about this before. It’s not something Jihyo just came up with, we had already talked about it, and we are both okay with it.”  _ He laughs wholeheartedly.

 

“ _ Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. You are both telling me you two like me the same way you like each other? That it?” _ Dahyun looks stunned.

 

“ _ That’s exactly what we are saying. And I know you heard something about it from Jisung, given how you have been acting since you came back.” _ Jihyo has that annoying know-it-all smile.

 

“ _ Okay, first, have I told you I hate that know-it-all face of yours?” _ Dahyun gets annoyed.

 

“ _ Trust me, you are really not the only one.” _ Chris offers his condolences.

 

“ _ Not my fault you both are the worst people to keep secrets I have ever met.” _ Jihyo mocks and both huff in annoyance.

 

“ _ Alright, fine!” _ Dahyun just gives up before she gets angry. “ _ Look, I have thought that way about you too, both of you. But I never really considered acting on it at all, I mean, you are a couple and you are my friends, my best friends, if I may say. There was never any ambition from me about any of you.”  _

 

_ “It’s okay to feel like that, you know?! We know we do, and we are both fine with whatever you decide to do about it, no pressure, and we promise nothing bad will happen, whatever you decide.”  _ Chris offers with the warmest smile he had. Jihyo nodding in agreement, also smiling warmly.

 

_ “Can I, like, not answer right now?” _ Dahyun asks, and is immediately met with agreement and assurance. “ _ I want to think about this seriously, and then give my answer.” _

 

_ “Just remember we are going home in two weeks.” _ Jihyo laughs.

 

_ “Oh, I forgot about that.” _ Dahyun remembers. “ _ Are you going with us?” _ She asks Chris.

 

“ _ I am. Mr and mrs Im demanded it, saying it wasn’t fair that Jihyo had met my parents and I hadn’t met them. Mom and dad were more than happy to send me away, they are going for a cruise in the caribbean islands for the holidays and were trying to figure out how to not bring me along. They should make it for Christmas eve with us, though.”  _ The boy says, defeated. Both girls laugh at that, offering him their sympathy.

 

“ _ Well, at least they didn’t send you wherever. We both know how they had been wanting that whatever honeymoon it is now. Is it their third one this year?”  _ Jihyo offers.

 

“ _ Yeah, they were considering sending me to the Lees. And we all know how much I don’t want to be around Felix letely.” _

 

_ “We know, Chris. But, hey, you don’t room with him anymore, and Rob is here too.”  _ Dahyun tries to cheer him up.

 

Both girls offer a few more encouraging words, before cuddling up to him and going back to watch the movie. Dahyun was thinking how well they all fit together, and considering that it could work, they were basically dating already anyways, she just didn’t participate on the intimate affection part, they cuddled like that often, they just didn’t kiss or did the nasty with her, but everything else was happening already. The only thing to really change would be her participating in the intimate parts, and she had to be honest with herself, Jihyo’s lips looked sweet and Chris’ strong arms were inviting to her.

 

Jihyo and Chris, despite not having said anything about it to each other, had talked enough to be thinking the same thing, how Dahyun fit so well with both of them. They felt comfortable and warm with her cuddling up to them like that, and her presence in their lives was becoming more and more important each day. The three ended up sleeping on the living room couch, the TV turned itself off sometime during the night, and Rob nestled himself on Dahyun’s legs at some point. 

 

Jisung got up in the middle of the night and saw the scene, a hopeful smile played on his lips, as he thought those people might be the ones to hold his hand too, when he was ready, for now, he just covered them again and went back to sleep.


	52. 52

It was only two weeks after, when the (still) couple arrived at the Vancouver airport, where they would catch their flight with Dahyun to Korea, that the topic of dating officially was brought up again, this time, by the pale girl herself. They had about four hours until their flight, and, for Dahyun, that was the best time to talk about it, she wanted to go with a definitive answer. They weren’t pressuring her at all, but that only made her feel a little more guilty for making both wait so long, not that Chris nor Jihyo would ever demand her to answer.

 

“ _ I have to talk to you, both of you.” _ Dahyun begins, once they were settled by a window on the boarding area.

 

_ “We are listening.” _ Jihyo offered a warm smile and held her hand.

 

“ _ It’s about us dating.” _ Dahyun looks between the two of them. “ _ The three of us, I mean. I know you both said you would be okay with whatever I decided, and I thought about it a lot. I want to date both of you.” _

 

_ “It’s an honor, and we promise to try our best to make you very happy, always.”  _ Chris brings both girls into a hug.

 

_ “You already do, and that’s why I can’t really choose one and not the other. I know nothing is certain, but I want to try with you two, if that’s okay.” _ Dahyun is relieved.

 

“ _ It’s more than okay. Sure, there are some things we have to discuss, but we have twelve hours to talk everything through. Just know, even if you decide it’s not what you want by the end of our conversation, it’s still alright.”  _ Jihyo assures the girl.

 

Chris kisses their foreheads, not releasing the hug, Jihyo gives him a quick peck, and kisses Dahyun’s forehead as well. They talk everything through, for the next few hours, from what their relationship is, to each one’s personal rules, their relationship rules, everything, when they do land in Seoul, Dahyun was never more certain that she wanted to be in a relationship. Jihyo and Chris are very happy they were accepted, it was very different, for them, being close friends with Dahyun from being in a relationship with her. 

 

Their first kiss was in the airplane, Chris was in the middle, and after having decided they were really going to try, he had gently taken Dahyun’s cheeks in his hands and placed the most loving kiss the girl had ever received on her lips. Jihyo ha chuckled at the girl’s stunned expression and leaned over to kiss her as well, rendering their new girlfriend useless for the next, almost, hour, until dinner was served and they had to snap her out of it.

 

When landing, the Im family was there for Jihyo and Chris, and the Chous for Dahyun, Momo hadn’t come, knowing the car wouldn’t fit, and it was too early in the morning for her to be willing to make the trip to the airport, when she could sleep a little more and wait for them at the house. Mina and Chaeyoung had insisted on preparing lunch for everyone, they had been taking cooking classes with Tzuyu and wanted to show off, so mrs Chou just left them at her kitchen and told them not to burn everything down. 

 

It was decided the trio wouldn’t be so upfront about their relationship just yet, by Dahyun’s request, and that Jihyo and Chris were to just be however they want, Hyun wanted to ease into it with her parents and sister first, Jihyo had asked if she could talk to her own and Chris’, it was alright, but Nayeon had to promise to not say anything until they were ready. So, after greeting everyone and being informed lunch was at the Chous, the trio said goodbye, Jihyo planted a kiss at the corner of Dahyun’s mouth, and Chris liked the idea, having an easier time doing it as he easily enveloped her in a hug and managed to kiss her lips, instead.

 

Nayeon had noticed the three visitors were closer than they should be, Chris and Jihyo were a couple, but they seemed to be just as intimate with Dahyun, and she could have sworn those hugs at the airport were too tight, and those kisses were definitely not on the cheek. But she kept quiet, if something had happened she could just ask Jihyo later, but her younger sister beat her to it.

 

“Mom, dad, unnie, can I talk to all of you later? I mean, like a family meeting?” 

 

“Is everything alright, hun?” Mr Im asks, worried.

 

“It’s nothing bad, dad. But I would really like to talk to you all.”

 

“Sure you can, sweetie.” Mrs Im agrees, turning back and stroking the girl’s cheek. Jihyo was sitting in the middle.

 

“Unnie, I feel bad about it, but can Momo not come? It’s nothing against her and all, but it’s not the time for her to know yet.” Jihyo had turned to Nayeon, who was a little taken aback.

 

“Sure thing, if that’s what you need. Can you, at least tell me what this is about?” The eldest really looked worried.

 

“It’s nothing bad, nothing to worry about, I promise. But I need it to be family only first, I can’t promise when, but I can promise you will be able to tell Momo at some point. Just not now.” Jihyo throws her arm around her sister’s shoulder.

 

“Okay. I’ll tell her to just meet us at Tzuyu’s, she said she would wait for me to tell her when you got home. But we can have that conversation right away if you want.” Nayeon offers a smile.

 

“That would be great, actually. I’m sorry I’m asking this.” Jihyo apologises.

 

“It’s okay Ji, you have nothing to apologise for. Momo will understand too, there are things she talks to Hana and her parents about that I don’t know either. It’s just unusual for me to be the one asking for some family time.” Nayeon smiles warmly and fishes her phone to send a message to Momo.

 

“Thanks.” Jihyo smiles back, cuddling herself back onto Chris, who was just watching silently.

 

They reach home not much later, both Chris and Jihyo wanted to take a quick shower before anything, they had been cuddling with Dahyun for, at least, half of the flight, despite all three of them feeling extremely hot, so all landed very sweaty and not smelling that good anymore. Mama and Papa Im just sent them up, Jihyo guided Chris to her own room and told him to use the bathroom there, while she would go to Nayeon’s, it would take much less time, and both had agreed that they wanted the conversation to happen sooner rather than later. And they were going to lunch at the Chous, which meant time was a little tight.


	53. 53

“ _ How long have you been waiting? _ ” Jihyo asks when she enters her room.

 

“ _ Just got here. _ ” Chris answers from his place on her bed.

 

“ _ Right _ .” She doesn’t believe him at all. “ _ Ready to meet my parents and tell them we just got a girlfriend? _ ”

 

“ _ Never. But let’s go! _ ” He smiles and gets up, taking Jihyo’s hand.

 

Going downstairs, they see mama and papa Im sitting on the large couch, and Nayeon on the smaller one beside it. Jihyo gives Chris a quick peck and guides him to sit between her parents, Nayeon told her to do that earlier, sitting herself on the coffee table right in front of them. 

 

“Mom, dad, this is Chris, my boyfriend.” Jihyo begins.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, mr and mrs Im.” The boy greets, trying to remember his korean properly. “I’m Christopher Bang.” 

 

“It’s very nice to meet you too, Chris. Nayeon told us a lot about you, Jihyo had been keeping silent about you two.” Mrs Im is the first to speak.

 

“And call us mom and dad, calling us mr and mrs Im makes it sound too formal.” Mr Im side hugs the boy, laughing. “And I do expect you do right by my girl here, can I trust you?”

 

“I’ll do my best sir.” Chris is very flushed by now, but still allows the couple to hug him.

 

“Mom, dad, Yeonnie, we have something else to tell you.” Jihyo gets serious, still holding a loving smile.

 

“Well, hun, we are all here.” Mrs Im encourages.

 

“Chris and I have a girlfriend. I mean, there is someone else in our relationship too.” The younger Im starts, reaching for her sister to come and sit with her. 

 

“We are glad you are dating Dahyun as well.” Mr Im asures his daughter, earning confused looks from the kids. “Don’t look at me like that, your mother and I thought it might be the case after seeing you three at the airport. But how did that happen? You had only told us about him.” The man finishes, tightening his arms around the boy.

 

“Well, Chris and I have been talking about it for a few months. I was the first one to get interested, and, later, he came to me and said he became interested too.” Jihyo begins.

 

“We have been really close with Dahyun since the girls came over to visit.” Chris explains. “She is working in composing too, and we have been bonding through making music. We have also visited each other a lot, everything just kind of happened.”

 

“But we only came out and told her about our feelings two weeks ago. Chris got a new roommate, we talked to him about ourselves and about Dahyun, there were some very late night video calls and we didn’t want to keep him out.” Jihyo reaches her free hand to her boyfriend.

 

“We think he might have said something to her, and we thought it was about time to just say it. So we explained how we felt for her and told her we expected nothing, she asked for some time to think about it, so we waited. She gave us her answer when we met at the airport, right before coming.” Chris finishes, smiling lovingly to the wonderful girl in front of him.

 

“Well, I wasn’t expecting THAT.” Nayeon blurts out, breaking the lovey dovey mood.

 

“One thing, though.” Jihyo quickly adds. “Dahyun asked to wait a bit before telling everyone. She wants to tell her family first, just like we did right now, so can you not make it so obvious yet?! And yes, you can be the one to tell Momo, but only after we say so, Yeonnie.” Jihyo asks her family.

 

They laugh at the sisters, Jihyo could look like the stern one, but she adapted too well to being the younger sister, and could never really get mad at Nayeon. After that, mrs Im goes to the kitchen and gets the kids something to munch on, she knew Jihyo and Chris were hungry, Nayeon would want a snack too just for the sake of it, and lunch was still a while away. The Ims leave right after, taking mrs. Im’s car, as it was bigger and Momo had already said she was going to sleep over, mr Im made the soccer mom joke and got smacked by his wife, to be fair, the minivan wasn’t helping.

 

Seemed like they took longer than they thought, everyone else was already at the Chous, Kai was there too for some reason (he was a broke college student with three days to spare until his last final and heard of a feast, cut him some slack), playing catch with Jeonghoon. Jihyo and Chris went around greeting everyone, the girl introducing her boyfriend and making small talk, when they rejoined their friends, they noticed Dahyun and Mina were nowhere to be seen.

 

“We are missing two.” Jihyo comments.

 

“Well, you know how Mina gets too excited about things sometimes, right?” Tzuyu begins explaining, receiving understanding nods. “So, she got really excited with the dessert unnie made and knocked the whole thing over unnie when she started jumping.”

 

There is a pause, then boisterous laughter erupts from the group, Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were the only ones who had seen it, and Nayeon and Momo had been wondering about it as well. Sure, Mina could pass as elegant and distant, if she kept her mouth shut and didn’t move much, that is, but she would do this quick running in place thing whenever she got excited, and if you were too close, things could go really wrong really fast. It’s after laughing for a while that it hits for Momo.

 

“Wait, so you are telling me we got no dessert?” The foodie asks.

 

“Not yet, at least. Dubs said she was going to make some more after she got cleaned up.” Chaeyoung is the one to explain.

 

“Do you guys know what she was making? I’m sure Chris and I can whip it up in the meantime.” Jihyo offers.

 

“I think that would be great, but I have no idea what it was, I just know it was chocolate and smelled really good.” Tzuyu shrugs.

 

“Well, if we learned anything about Hyun it that she only has three chocolate recipes that she is confident enough to show off with.” Chris chuckles. “I’ll never admit saying this, but we can make it better than she can.”

 

The girls laugh a little, they really liked him, and were starting to see why Jihyo had nothing but great things to say about the boy.

 

“Why don’t you two go on and ask her about it. She is in my room for now, her shower wasn’t heating up.” Tzuyu suggests, she too wanted dessert and was beginning to think it wouldn’t be done in time if they kept waiting for Dahyun.

 

“Will do, thanks Yucchan.” Jihyo gets up, kissing the tall girl’s cheek and pulling Chris to come with.

 

The girls go back to talking, very excited about having dessert on the menu once more. Jihyo guides them through the house, Tzuyu and Dahyun’s rooms faced each other, it was fairly easy to recognise which belonged to whom, if you knew the sisters. Dahyun’s room had a brown door, with some dogs carved into it, Tzuyu’s was white, with a song carved in, Dahyun’s first composition, the one she made for Tzuyu’s tenth birthday. She quickly explained it to Chris, who also looked fondly at the doors, before knocking on Tzuyu’s and hearing Mina tell them to come in.

 

“Hey you two.” The girl said, getting up from the bed and walking over to hug both.

 

“Hey yourself. I hear you rendered us all dessertless.” Jihyo mocks and gets a punch to her arm.

 

“It’s not like I wanted to, but it just tasted so good. Dubs tried to clean some that was on my cheek and it just happened so fast.” Mina pouts as she exlains.

 

“You do know we are here just to mock you, right Micchan?” A playful glint makes its way to Jihyo’s eyes.

 

“Dahyun should be coming out soon, she already came to get her clothes. Me? I’m going to get my girlfriends to cuddle me and be very far from the kitchen while you make more dessert.” Mina says as she leaves the room.

 

Chris just pulls Jihyo on his lap, as they wait for their girlfriend to come out so they can, maybe, make out a little before going back down and cooking. The two weren’t much to be that intimate in public, but would always enjoy each other whenever they had a few moments for themselves, so Jihyo angles herself better to kiss her boyfriend with everything she had, it’s just a few moments later that Dahyun comes out of the bathroom, towel wrapping her hair up, with those damn red sweatpants Chris gave her and she never takes off.

 

“ _ You guys do know this is Tzuyu’s room, right? _ ” Dahyun chuckles when she sees them.

 

“ _ We got bored waiting for you. And it’s not like we are going any further, I’m not my sister _ .” Jihyo rebutts.

 

“ _ Fair enough. And I still don’t know how you didn’t kill Nayeon for that yet. _ ” The pale girl laughs as she approaches.

 

“ _ I’m holding onto it for a proper opportunity to use it against her. Now get over here and let us kiss you. _ ” Im junior sits back on the bed, patting her lap and pulling Dahyun into it.

 

They manage a little make out session, until Nayeon comes over to get them, probably knowing something like this would happen, pausing at the door, as it was the very first time she ever saw her sister in that kind of position. Dahyun was stradling Chris’ lap, in a deep kiss with the boy, Jihyo was sitting on one leg, attacking the girl’s neck, Chris was holding Dahyun’s thigh with one hand and tangling the other in Jihyo’s hair. Nayeon was impressed, amused and a little protective of her baby sister at that moment, but she knew Tzuyu would follow soon if they didn’t move right away, so she cleaned her throat, making the trio snap out of it.

 

“Look, I know you three are in that honeymoon phase and all, but if you don’t get downstairs right now, Tzuyu is coming up and I already had a very hard time distracting her for a few minutes.”

 

“Nayeon, hey. We, uhm, yeah. Let’s move.” Dahyun stammers, jumping to her feet.

 

“Don’t worry, Jihyo and Chris talked to us this morning. It’s okay, I know you want to tell them yourself first, and that’s why I didn’t let Yucchan come up.” The eldest offers a kind smile.

 

“Thanks, Yeonnie, remind me to treat you to dinner while we are here.” Dahyun hugs said girl.

 

“Chris, you might want to stop by the bathroom before coming down. You two, just fix yourselves quick and come with me.” Nayeon urges.

 

He was really glad the eldest didn’t say more, and waited for his girlfriends to go down first, before following behind them and entering the bathroom downstairs before he was seen. Chris made a mental note to get Nayeon a good gift, maybe the next day when they were to go walk around downtown. Dessert was really quick to make after that and, besides the chocolate mousse Dahyun had attempted earlier, they decided to make a pudding and some cinnamon fudge as well. Needless to say, everyone was very pleased by their work.


	54. 54

Monday, a fine day to spend strolling through town, the kids were supposed to have gone the day prior, but the trio was spent, and the adults had agreed to let them rest, telling the girls to just go out without them. Dahyun had been woken up early by her sister, and took the opportunity to talk to her family about her relationship, as expected, Tzuyu was a little hesitant at first, until the older made her see it wasn’t any different from her own relationship, and it was Jihyo, the girl would never hurt anyone willingly, so the youngest promised to keep quiet about it and let them come out themselves. 

 

Mr and mrs Chou were very happy their daughter was opening herself to others again, Jihyo was a no brainer, and after talking to Tzuyu, and calling the Ims, they were very accepting of Chris as well, all had nothing but great things to say about the boy. The picture Nayeon had sent of the two sleeping cuddled with each other and Keukeu in the middle of them may have helped, they looked adorable and it got the couple thinking how much cuter it would look with their eldest with them.

 

Obviously, said picture was sent to the girl’s group chat as well, and they fawned over the two when they met over at Mina’s house that afternoon. Tzuyu checked on her sister before making her way out, asking if she was okay with the picture and not feeling lonely or anything, to which she was asked to be sent the picture with a better quality and wished the younger one to have fun with her friends, before going back to sleep. While the group was out for the afternoon, Dahyun sent a message to her lovers, asking them to come over so they could talk to her parents.

 

“Took you two long enough.” Dahyun says when she opens the door.

 

“Great to see you too, Hyun.” Chris greets first, taking the girl in his arms and kisses her deeply before stepping aside when Jihyo clears her throat.

 

“Can I greet my girlfriend now?” The taller girl asks, receiving a small smile from the boy.

 

“Come over here and love me already.” Dahyun teases, letting out a gasp when the girl does just that.

 

Their kiss is loving and lazy, but Dahyun pulls back too soon, they were still in the doorway, and still had to talk to mr and mrs Chou. Who were watching from the living room archway, very entertained by what they were seeing, none could have guessed their little girl could be so assertive then turn completely shy and red when caught, the other two were very flustered too, trying to look anywhere but the couple, who was just laughing as they went back into the living room.

 

“Hyunnie talked to us this morning.” Mr Chou begins. “We are already schooled in a relationship like that, Choco gave us quite the headaches after Chaengie came along, Mina was just as shy, and the two never even left the living room when it was just them.”

 

The trio smiles, knowing how much more forward the girls were nowadays, Jihyo remembering how awkward Mina and Tzuyu had been in the beginning of their relationship, the two couldn’t even hold hands properly. 

 

“We just want to know, how far have you gone?” Mrs Chou asks carefully, looking at the three.

 

“Dahyun agreed to date us just before we left to come here, so kisses?” Chris begins.

 

“Chris and I are still virgins, if that’s what’s worrying you.” Jihyo decides to just be blunt, no point beating around the bush for this. “None of us are ready to take that step yet. Sure, our make out sessions can get heated up, but there will be no going there for the near future.”

 

“I don’t really like hearing these things about my little girls, but thank you for telling us.” Mr Chou is honestly thankful to know. “Just promise us you will all be careful when the time comes.”

 

“We- I promise. My parents already had THE talk with me, it was too well explained.” chris assures the couple.

 

“Chris’ parents are doctors in Australia. I had to sit through THE talk with them as well. I promise we aren’t thinking about it. And we will be careful no matter what.” Jihyo explains with a fond smile, holding the hands of her lovers.

 

“It saves me the pain of having to go through that again. Having to do it with Hyunnie last time was hard enough, and we still have Tzuyu to go.” Mrs Im sighs in relief.

 

They all laugh and make some more conversation, until the three start dozing off, clearly still tired. They are sent up to sleep, but had to promise to leave the door open, which none really minded, they really just wanted to sleep the day away. To make things easier, they quickly agree to let Nayeon tell the others about their relationship, the girl had been bugging them since she found out, and a day of Im Nayeon throwing fits because she wanted something was too long for anyone, they just had her promise to ask Tzuyu about it before screaming to everyone.

 

Tzuyu got back home with her girlfriends late that afternoon, stopping dead in front of her sister’s room to take in the sight, Mina and Chaeyoung wormed their way through to see it as well. The trio was sleeping peacefully, Chris in the middle, Dahyun and Jihyo cuddled up to him, making themselves look even smaller, Gucci had decided to join them and curled himself up on the boy’s stomach. Mina took a few pictures and sent them to the group chat before dragging her girlfriends out, all feeling warmed at the sight.


	55. 55

“ _ Are you sure you want to wear that? _ ” Chris asks Jihyo, they were getting ready to go out with the girls.

 

“ _ Is there a problem with this? _ ” Jihyo is a little irritated.

 

“ _ Nothing, if we were in summer. But, Hyo, it’s snowing, you can’t be serious about going out in those shorts. _ ” He really is worried.

 

“ _ But I’m wearing them already, and they are comfortable. _ ” She whines.

 

Jihyo never stopped browsing her wardrobe for whatever, she didn’t say what she was looking for, so Chris gets up and goes call for help. He knew Jihyo was going to complain in a few minutes, and they would be too far to do anything about it, then they would have to stop anywhere to buy her some new pants. Nayeon and Momo were patiently waiting in the eldest’s room, so he just headed across the hallway and knocked on the doorframe, it was open, but manners were manners.

 

“Chris.” Momo greets. “Is something wrong? Are you two ready?”

 

“I wish, can you guys come and make Jihyo wear actual pants? She is insisting in going out on those shorts and it’s snowing already.” He sounds a little desperate, the couple finds it cute.

 

“Oh, she does that, and then we will have to stop and-” Nayeon gets cut off.

 

“Buy her new pants, I know, she did that the first time we went out together in the snow. The lucky part was that we were near an outlet at the time, but still, she didn’t need to buy those pants if she listened to me.” He is so frustrated Nayeon actually laughs this time.

 

“Im Jihyo, I better not see you wearing shorts to go out!” Nayeon brings out her big sister aura, strutting into the other bedroom.

 

Momo just hugs Chris from behind, as he was making to leave, telling him to just let the two work it out, despite the exasperated voices coming from the other bedroom. So they just sit there for a quick talk while Nayeon does her thing.

 

“Sooooo….” Momo begins.

 

“Please just ask, Mo. I’m terrible with this not being straightforward thing.” 

 

“Right, so I kind of wanted to treat you to dinner or something. While you are here, if possible. Nayeon and I wanted to talk to you without Jihyo, who was the one to suggest we take you out.”

 

“Sure thing. With Hyun now it’s easier, we can just drop her at the Chous and we are good to go.”

 

“Really? That was easy.”

 

“Momo noona, if there is something I definitely don’t do, is refusing to be taken out to dinner by two pretty women.”

 

They laugh, and that’s when the eldest comes back followed by a slightly sulking Jihyo who was, now, wearing pants.

 

“Should I give you two some more alone time?” Nayeon comes back to Momo still back hugging the boy, sitting on their bed.

 

“I got us a hot date with this great gentleman right here.” The peach laughs.

 

“Can we go, then? Hyun already messaged us saying they are waiting.” Chris gets a little flustered.

 

“No need to be embarrassed, just remember to use protection.” Jihyo decides to jump in.

 

“Okay, we are going, then.” Chris jumps up and power walks out of the room. “Mom, dad, we are going.” He says to mr and mrs Im who were sitting on the living room, giving both a hug on his way out.

 

“Girls, stop teasing Chris, he is going to snap and I want to be there to see how you are going to handle it.” Mr Im laughs, as the boy runs to the front door to get his shoes and the girls also come downstairs.

 

“But dad, tell me it isn’t funny.” Nayeon whines, but hugs her parents goodbye as well.

 

“Just be sure you aren’t going to break Jihyo up, okay?” Mrs Im warns the two older girls.

 

“They won’t, break us up with that.” Jihyo answers. “He is just so much shyer than you think. Hard to see, I know, it took me a while to figure it out too.”

 

“Can we stop talking about me and go? My girlfriend is waiting.” Chis pops his head from the hallway and back out as soon as he says it.

 

They all just laugh and Jihyo decides to take pity on the poor guy, she had already given him a little headache with the pants, and she wanted go see Dahyun fast too. Sure they had seen each other the day before, but they slept 90% of the time they were together, the rest of the time they were talking to mama and papa Chou, so it didn’t count. 

 

And they would be late for lunch if they didn’t leave right then, even if it was still nine, Chaeyoung had insisted to go to a new exhibit that had opened the previous week, and everyone knew she wouldn’t let them leave before going through the entire thing, piece by piece, and it was reported to be a big one, half of the exhibition hall was occupied by it, and the place was huge. Late lunch was already the plan, but it might not even be lunch anymore, depending on how many pieces were being shown, so Jihyo’s time waste had put them a little behind schedule. In truth, Mina had sent her a private message asking her to stall because she was handling Tzuyu about something she never mentioned.


	56. 56

The girls decided to go to their main meeting point, the restaurant Jihyo used to work at, Jeongyeon was still working there, but got promoted to assistant manager a few months prior. Jihyo’s manager back then had stopped working after she got pregnant, and most of her former workmates had switched jobs, so Jihyo wasn’t surprised when she didn’t really recognise anyone when they entered. She smiled at the memories she had there, though, and the food had gotten much better, so that was a plus.

 

“You guys come here a lot?” Jihyo couldn’t stop herself from asking.

 

“We like to hang out here because Jeongyeon doesn’t kick us out and the food got decent. Also the prices are good.” Chaeyoung answers. “Also, Dubs, please don’t climb on any tables today.”

 

“I’ll have you know I don’t climb on tables, Mina put me on top of that one last time.” Dahyun protests, and Chris hugs her before the two smallest start fighting.

 

“Hold up, Mina put you on the table?” Nayeon picks up on the detail.

 

“I mean, she said she absolutely would dance if she happened to find herself on top of a table.” Mina negotiates. “I just thought I should put that claim to test.”

 

“Mina, we’ll have to talk later.” Tzuyu warns in a grimm tone.

 

“Oooohhh, someone is in trouble.” Mina teases.

 

Everyone pauses.

 

“That’s me. I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that.” The penguin mumbles when she notices what just happened.

 

“Alright, we are gonna go and order.” Jihyo breaks the weird atmosphere and drags her lovers with her.

 

Back at the table, Nayeon had been busy with her phone.

 

“Someone we know?” Momo asks, noticing her girlfriend.

 

“Just Sana, she asked what we were doing and I told her we are here.” The eldest answers.

 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to have them over? You know she will show up really soon.” Mina asks, trying to divert the attention from herself.

 

“Why not?! Ji is more than fine, as we all see. And it’s not like they can really do much about the situation.” 

 

“Well, you are her sister, we are not questioning your judgement. But do tell them about it before those two idiots arrive.” Tzuyu asks and goes back to glare at Mina.

 

It’s not long until the trio arrives with the first round of drinks and some snacks, the group is supposed to be having lunch, but it always takes them some time to decide, it’s better to just ask for something they can chew on while thinking about it.

 

“Ji.” Nayeon calls for her sister’s attention. “Sana just sent me a message asking what we were up to, and I told her we are here. Just a heads up.”

 

“Sana? One of your soulmates Sana?” Chris asks, amused.

 

“That would be the one. We are kind of friends, pero no mucho.” Older Im further explains.

 

“At least now, this one can properly meet them and see for himself. He has been bothering me to show him who my soulmates were ever since I mentioned them.” Jihyo rolls her eyes and sits down between Dahyun, who was having a very serious discussion with Chaeyoung about the superiority of the chocolate milkshake over strawberry, and Chris, who was talking whatever with Momo (nobody really paid much attention to them when they were talking to each other).

 

“If you are fine with it, we won’t say anything else.” Mina decides and sits back in Tzuyu’s hug.

 

The group decides to postpone their lunch orders, waiting for the couple that were on their way over. Chris is having a hard time with the in-laws’ questions, when a chime followed by a squeal, someone running and hitting one of the tables catches everyone’s attention, it all happened so fast that whoever wasn’t looking immediately at the scene, didn’t manage to turn around in time.

 

“Can you, please, not wreck the place? I kind of still need to work here?” A grumpy Jeongyeon follows.

 

“I’m not the one climbing on the tables.” Sana remarks.

 

“Mina was the one who put Dubs on the table.” Chaeyoung cuts in, grabbing the couple’s attention.

 

“Mina puts people on tables?” Jeongyeon is trying her hardest to understand.

 

“We are as surprised as you are. Now grab a chair and sit down.” Nayeon orders.

 

“We’ll just get something to drink and come right back.” Jeongyeon grabs Sana and moves to the register.

 

All the while, the group had been observing one particular figure, that happened to be unbothered throughout the entire thing, still sipping on her iced americano, still cuddled up to her boyfriend, still holding Dahyun’s hand trying to stop the girl from jumping Chaeyoung who had suggested strawberry milkshake might be as good as chocolate (Dahyun had tried and agreed it was good too, but that’s not the point). Chris looked extremely relaxed, and Dahyun was still too busy discoursing about chocolate, maybe the two knew something the others didn’t, and, with that thought, Momo relaxed and pulled Nayeon against her, making the eldest calm down as well.

 

“Okay, we are back. What’s up?” Sana says when they reach the table.

 

“Oh, the two midgets are fighting over milkshake, and we’ve been waiting for you two so we can decide on lunch.” Jihyo answers casually. “Also, good to see you two. It’s been a while.”


	57. 57

“Oh, the two midgets are fighting over milkshake, and we’ve been waiting for you two so we can decide on lunch.” Jihyo answers casually. “Also, good to see you two. It’s been a while.”

 

“We are the same height, and Dahyun is smaller, even though nobody will ever admit to it.” Chaeyoung protests.

 

“You are very lucky you are cute, or I’d drag you outside right now and beat that pasty ass of yours!” Dahyun joins the whining.

 

“Yeah, Dubs is a bit smaller, but we don’t talk about that on this family. Also, my ass is very sexy and you know that.” Jihyo teases, a devilish smirk appears when Dahyun gets very flustered thinking about said ass. “And, if you feel it’s pasty, you can do without it, right?”

 

“Please, no. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Dahyun pleads, what makes everyone, except the still stunned couple, laugh their hearts out.

 

Momo was closer, so she pulls on Sana’s arm a little, which manages to snap the girl out of whatever spiral she was in, moving to sit down and pulling Jeongyeon along. Once they were sitting, the conversation continues normally, nobody really forcing the two to join in, and Jeongyeon is the first one to say something.

 

“I know all the rest, but I still haven’t been introduced to you.” Jeongyeon says, looking at Chris. “I’m Jeongyeon, this is my girlfriend, Sana.” And the girl offers a handshake.

 

“I’m Christopher Bang, very nice to meet you two.” He greets, giving both a very warm handshake. “I’ve heard about you, Nayeon was always talking to Sana? when they came over to visit.”

 

“So you are abroad too?” Sana gets interested.

 

“Yeah, Hyo is roommates with my childhood friend, that’s how we met.”

 

“He was the least rowdy of the bunch. I thought about changing rooms the moment I was left alone with those kids.” Jihyo laughed.

 

“Well, you did room with one of the devil’s twins, I can’t really blame you for wanting to run away.” Chris joins in and pecks Jihyo’s cheek when he finishes.

 

“Am I the only one in this relationship that likes Amy? She’s great.” Dahyun asks, leaning into Jihyo.

 

“Yes.” Jihyo and Chris answer at the same time.

 

“I’m telling.” Dahyun sulks.

 

“Go ahead, but remember, nobody likes a gossiper.” Jihyo threatens, releasing her hold on the girl.

 

Dahyun just grabs Jihyo’s arm and wraps it around herself again. The girls burst out laughing, which seems to get Sana and Jeongyeon out of their daze completely, and the group goes on to talk about nothing and everything for the rest of the day. The couple gets a little sad about seeing Jihyo with others, but they manage to hold it together, both could always talk later, and the girl was close, they could try and talk to her as well.


	58. 58

“Why am I here? Not that I don’t appreciate you guys, but I was hoping to go home and spend the rest of the day with my man and my woman.” Jihyo complains when everyone had agreed to walk around the park after eating.

 

“Well, you could be less thirsty and enjoy some time outdoors.” Nayeon smirks and gets a flustered Jihyo.

 

“Truth be told, the three of us have been looking forward to sleeping in this vacation, like, all day everyday would be great.” Dahyun steps up. 

 

“Oh, and how so? Tired of your activities before you all came over?” Chaeyoung taunts.

 

“Actually, we are. There is this college scholarship program and we are all trying for it, every applicant must submit an original piece.” Chris explains. “And there can be group submissions as well, but each must submit something individually anyhow. So, there have been a lot of all nighters.”

 

“Oh.” The smallest one is rendered speechless.

 

“Yeah, so your horny ass should stop trying to make us look like we do stuff we really don’t.” Dahyun concludes, looking smug.

 

Nobody knew what kind of weird connection Dahyun and Chaeyoung had developed, but those two made a team that none really wanted to be around for too long, Jihyo just made sure to have a talk with both of them and get them to promise that Chaeyoung would not be climbing anything, at all. Ever. 

 

“But, isn’t it early to be trying for college scholarships?” Sana brings up and the others seem to have just thought about it. 

 

“Not exactly, this scholarchip we are trying for is a full scholarship and we even get some spending money too, not just a few things get paid for. And it’s like, five stages of competition.” Chris explains further.

 

“But still, two years is kind of far away.” Momo comments.

 

“Kinda, if you look at it from the outside, but really, it’s not enough. We’ll have to produce full songs throughout the entire process, they have to be original and the amount of songs we have to present can vary from stage to stage.” Dahyun stops ‘glare fighting’ with Chaeyoung and joins the conversation.

 

“How does it work, exactly?” Momo got really interested.

 

“We only know about stage 1, and some rumors about stage 2. Like, for the first one, we have to present one classical piece and one contemporary piece, both must complement and interact with each other, if we want to try for groups, which we are, the number doubles, and all four must communicate, and we can’t use the ones for the individual entry.” Jihyo is the one explaining this time. “For the second phase, there are rumors that it will be electronic music and brass, again, they must make sense with each other, but we hear both songs must work when heard separately and overlaid.”

 

“Okay, I don’t understand half of what you just said, but two years suddenly sound like not enough.” Nayeon huffs. “Now, enough of you three nerds, let’s have fun while we still can. I doubt any of you will be coming over in the near future.”

 

And so they do, truth be told, they couldn’t afford to take the very vacation they were in, but the nest two years promised to be very draining for them, and any time they could spend with their families was welcomed, one of the reasons Chris’ parents were also on their way to spend the holidays with everyone, they were going to the Sons’ Jeju house, meaning, they should do everything they wanted in the next two days, before they go, there would be no time for anything once they got back.

 

Nayeon was still very worried, all of the girls were, but she was Jihyo’s big sister, but the look of peace the younger girl had the entire time assured them all everything was going great, no more resentments, no more fear, no more anything negative, it was clear for all the girls that Dahyun and Chris were the ones Jihyo loved now, and the withered buds or the beautiful flowers meant less than they once did for the three of them. 


	59. 59

“Did you call your parents and told them we are staying here?” Chris asks when everyone is leaving the Chous’ house.

 

“Yeonnie will tell them, but I did send both a message.” Jihyo laughs. “The only problem is that you didn’t bring clothes.”

 

“I got him, don’t worry.” Tzuyu says, coming back from the front door, her girls decided to go home for the day. “I’m going to ask dad for some clothes for him, why are you looking at me like that?” She smirks when the trio give her worried looks.

 

“And I’m supposed to be the smarter one.” Dahyun pretend complains. 

 

“I mean, you should stop trying to flex a few months on me.” Chou junior taunts, already behind the couch.

 

“I’m still the older one here, and it’s eight months, thank you very much.”

 

“Wait, wait, hold up.” Jihyo almost shouts. “You two are saying you are not even an year apart?”

 

“Yeah, you didn’t know?” Tzuyu is looking as nonchalant as Dahyun at the moment.

 

“How can you two just throw this information at us as if it’s nothing? Why is Dahyun in the same grade as us, then? How are you two such perfect opposites? What is life? Why are we here?” Jihyo is freaking out.

 

The sisters laugh, Chris looks like he might be having a small stroke, or trying to hold explosive diarrhea, we are going with the first one, and Jihyo is hyperventilating. Tzuyu and Dahyun manage to hold themselves together enough to guide the slightly traumatized duo to the couch, before Jihyo hurts herself and Chris bursts a vein. The taller one goes to get them some water while the older girl is trying to keep both seated.

 

“Are you two good to listen to us, now?” Tzuyu asks, once they drank some water and got some of their focus back. “Good, in order. It’s not like we were hiding it. Unnie skipped a grade when she got invited to study abroad, our parents didn’t really think I was possible so soon after Hyunnie. We aren’t that different, really. I don’t know. And I don’t know that either.”

 

“Were we the only ones that didn’t know?” Chris, finally, says something.

 

“I don’t think the girls know at all, with the whole I skipped a grade and we look nothing alike thing.” Dahyun shrugs.

 

“And nobody really asked, we would have told you if you did.” Tzuyu is still nonchalant (much like her sister).

 

“Alright, I think I need to lay down for a bit.” Jihyo decides and Chris can just nods in agreement.

 

Both stumble their way to Dahyun’s room and collapse on her bed, their heads spinning and a not very pleasant feeling on their stomachs. Truth be told, everyone just supposed Dahyun was a year or two older, not even questioning it. It’s not like it was that serious, but the realisation made them a bit dizzy. Now that both stopped to think about it, the Chou sisters had too much in common. 

 

Like how their eyes were big and full of wonder, or how they were quick to blow the situation up, but the ones that worried the most, how their sense of humor was completely unconventional, but truly entertaining when you got used to it, how one would always, no matter what, make time for each other and make sure they were well (like the calls in the middle of the night Dahyun often made herself wake up for). The similarities go on and on, their deep connection made clearer at each one Jihyo or Chris pointed out.

 

The sisters were just sitting on Dahyun’s couch, looking over the two, making sure they still didn’t pass out, or weren’t making to throw up on the pale girl’s bed, that would be a relationship breaker. The Chou girls were hugging each other and looking over fondly, listening to what was being said about them, it was endearing that neither had noticed them and were still discussing their thoughts out loud and not realising it.

 

Soon enough, mama Chou called them all for dinner, the two idiots were still dazed during the whole dinner, but they stopped speaking, still entertaining for the family that never really thought much about how the kids being born so close to each other would be that much of a shock, shouldn’t, but mama and papa Chou understood where they were coming from, their girls were visually different enough that nobody really believed when they said the girls were sisters. Kindergarten was a difficult time for all of the family.

 

“ _ Can you two knock it off? It was cute when you began, but it’s just annoying now. _ ” Dahyun finally snaps, her lovers were great, but they needed to stop now.

 

_ “Sorry?” _

_ “What?” _

 

Both answers come at the same time.

 

“ _ This ‘I’m in shock with my discovery’ thing you two are still on about. _ ” Dahyun is losing her temper, really it’s just her with an adorable frown, mumbling angrily and pacing around a little.

 

“ _ Oh, sorry about that, love. _ ” Jihyo begins carefully. “ _ We were just surprised. _ ”

 

“ _ And now we are done with it. _ ” Chris adds. “ _ Now come here and let us make you forget all about it. _ ”

 

They make a space for Dahyun between both, their faces screaming mischief, but what’s Dahyun gonna do? Say no?


	60. 60

Chris was in the kitchen, talking to papa Chou while both did their best to make breakfast for everyone. The boy had woken up early, and decided to go for a walk with the dogs, he had to wait for the others to wake up anyways, and getting some fresh air is never a bad idea. When Chris got back with Gucci and Ahri, the two pups rushed to the living room as soon as they were out of their leashes, Gucci half dragged his, and the boy rushed after to find papa Chou sitting and reading his morning paper. 

 

Both decided to do something useful, well, something else useful for Chris, and agreed to make breakfast, papa Chou was a disastrous cook, it’s not that he didn’t know what to do, things just never really worked the way he wanted them to, and Chris was great at the basics, he knew how to make some eggs, bacon, pancakes and, if he was really inspired, he would try for some muffins. Maybe some of those things required some skill, but he would never think of it beyond basics.

 

And that’s where both were now, trying to make breakfast happen, when they hear heavy steps running, upstairs, then a door bursting open, a squeal, a very loud thud and very annoyed, groaned, complaints. Not much later there is running again, a door being violently shut, and somebody jumping down the stairs, it wasn’t long for both men to find it was Tzuyu, panting, with disheveled hair and laughing maniacally.

 

“Did you jump on your sister while she was sleeping again?” Papa Chou asked, amused at his daughter’s looks.

 

“I jumped Jihyo too. Would have jumped in the three of them but this one got away” She answers, pointing at Chris on the last part.

 

“Well, someone had to walk the dogs, and none of you three looked like you were still alive.” Chris jokes, and papa Chou laughs heartily.

 

“Wait, you mean to say I could have stayed sleeping and never thought to tell me?” Tzuyu protests.

 

“In my defense, you were asleep, how was I supposed to do that without waking you up?” The boy throws his hands up in surrender. “Also, Yucchin, tell me it wasn’t worth it to go jump on those two.”

 

A mischievous laughter bubbles up from both kids, and mr Chou can’t help but join in, they move to finish cooking, with Tzuyu, things got faster, she managed to get her father to go get the plates and cutlery while they finished everything. When they start setting the table, Jihyo and Dahyun come downstairs, the older one limping a little, and the smaller one with a very aggressive red patch coming from the side of her neck and up her left cheek, both looking pissed but very silent. They greet the men good morning and give Tzuyu the stink eye, before sitting down.

 

“Mom isn’t up yet?” Dahyun asks her father once they all sit down.

 

“Your aunt is in the hospital again.” The man answers, sighing.

 

“What did she break this time?” Tzuyu joins the conversation, looking unphased as ever.

 

“Are we missing something?” Jihyo asks, very puzzled about how they are all so calm. “Shouldn’t we all be a bit more worried?”

 

The Chous laugh, loud and relaxed, which makes the other two all the more confused.

 

“My wife’s little sister does this all the time, don’t worry too much. She loves going on adventures, not necessarily doing things she is skilled in. Like hiking, mountain climbing, wrestling, well, you name it, she does it. Today she was horseback riding in the early morning, something about watching the sunrise in the fields? Whatever hippie reasoning she had this time.” Mr Chou explains, eating his breakfast and not minding at all.

 

“Five that she broke her arm again.” Dahyun shoots to Tzuyu.

 

“You got yourself a bet, but it’s her ankle.” The youngest takes the bet.

 

“Just don’t let your mother catch you betting on your aunt’s accidents again.” The man asks, before continuing. “My wife got a call really early this morning, the hospital was calling her to manage her sister’s papers, as the emergency contact. She should be back before lunch.”

 

“Oh, I’m taking it happened too much to be surprising by now.” Chris concludes.

 

“You have no idea. I remember on our tenth birthday, she already had a broken leg, and managed to break her wrist playing shuttlecock.” Dahyun remembers. “Don’t ask.” She adds, seeing her lovers were about to ask something.

 

They finish their breakfast, talking about their plans for the day, where each one was going and if Jihyo and Chris would be sleeping over again, or Dahyun would join them over, if Tzuyu was staying at the Myouis or the Sons. Mr Chou ended up telling them he wanted a date night with his wife, and the kids not staying home would be great, so Tzuyu would see with Chaeyoung and Mina where she should head to, and Dahyun was staying at the Ims. Breakfast finished, dishes done, the four headed out for the day.

 

Chris had his date with Nayeon and Momo, Dahyun had promised Chaeyoung she would help with some new art interest that involved music or whatever (nobody really bothered too much with the details) and Jihyo thought it would be a good idea to talk to Jeongyeon and Sana, at least hear them out. So, the Ims was their first stop, Tzuyu just went with them, she would have to get Dahyun to the Sons after anyways, so why trouble herself with two trips. 

 

“Unnie, can I talk to you for a bit?” Jihyo asks Nayeon, once they settle a little.

 

“Sure, what’s up?” 

 

“Can you message Sana or Jeongyeon and ask them to meet me?” It surprises the eldest.

 

“Sure I can, but are you alright with that?”

 

“It’s about time I talk to them. “I’m not saying I’ll tell them much, but I should try, at least.” Jihyo looks very certain. “And they are friends with you guys, I don’t think it’s that good to keep avoiding them. Can you ask them to meet me somewhere?”

 

“Alright, but just because you are cute.” Nayeon pinches Jihyo’s cheek. “Now, where do you want to meet them?”

 

“Doesn’t really matter much, as long as it isn’t any of their houses or here, I’m fine.”

 

“Sure, I’ll message her.” Nayeon gives a small smile and fishes her phone out.

 

“Thanks, I really don’t want to let them know my number yet.”

 

“No problem, kiddo. Momo and I will take Chris out, but do call us if you need anything. We’ll come right away.”

 

“Will do, unnie. And take care of that kid for me.”

 

“No promises, Momo is coming with us.” Nayeon mocks. “They will meet you at the park in front of Jeongyeon’s house. I’ll send you the address.”

 

“Thanks, I’ll get going, then.”

 

Jihyo says goodbye to her sister, then gets to the living room, kissing Chris and Dahyun, for Tzuyu’s displeasure. And everyone headed out, Nayeon and Chris had gone get Momo for their date, Dahyun and Tzuyu, who had messaged Mina and learned she wasn’t at the Sons yet, headed the opposite way, to the Myouis, and Jihyo was doing her best to figure out how the GPS worked so she could get to her meet up.


	61. 61

“You are worried.” 

 

“You didn’t see her before she left. When you two met in person, she was already someone completely different, physically, at least.” 

 

“Maybe, but I know her now, and I can tell you she will be more than fine.”

 

“Unnie, please remember I love you very much, but I’m not quite taking your word for it.”

 

“Choco, I know where you are coming from, I do, but I know parts of her that you don’t, and I know that she made this decision for herself and she is more than ready to do it.”

 

“It’s just- I just worry about her, I don’t want to see her like she was back then.”

 

“And you won’t, Chris and I are here with her, you all are here with her. She is not the girl who left, scared and alone anymore.”

 

Dahyun reaches out and holds Tzuyu by her waist (it was the only place she could reach, leave her alone), and they make their way to Mina’s porch, who was waiting, patiently, for them with a loving smile. The Chou sisters were really cute whenever they were trying to be serious with each other, it looked like two cupcakes trying to look grown up and wise, but nobody had the heart to tell them that. 

 

“You two look serious.” Mina hugs both when they get to her.

 

“Jihyo went out to meet with Jeongyeon and Sana.” Tzuyu still sounds defeated.

 

“Oh.” The older one offers a sympathetic smile.

 

“I told her it’s going to be alright, Jihyo’s got this. But she isn’t taking my word for it.” Dahyun huffs, frustrated.

 

“Hyunnie, I understand you know things we don’t, and that you are trusting the Jihyo you fell in love with to pull through, but we also know things you don’t and we worry about the Jihyo we sent off that day.” Mina reasons.

 

“I know, and I understand all of you, I really do.” Dahyun gives both girls a kiss on their foreheads. “But I just wanted you to trust her a little more. You know, just-” 

 

“Unnie, come sit back down.” Tzuyu calls for the distressed girl pacing in front of the steps they sat down at.

 

“We are trying, I promise.” Mina, despite herself, was great at diffusing nervous breakdowns. “Please sit here and talk to us more.”

 

“Shouldn’t we be heading to Chaeyoung?” Dahyun frowns, but sits down anyways. “It’s just that Chris and I get a little frustrated when you get that overprotective over her. He might not come out and say it, but I’m the one that listens to him complaining every time.”

 

“We didn’t know you felt this way.” Tzuyu mumbles.

 

“That’s because we never told any of you directly. But when you get overprotective of her and all that, it feels like you don’t trust us to catch her, or that you don’t trust her to take the steps she knows she can. It feels like none of you trust that Jihyo is someone else now, and that she has everyone by her side to keep her from falling, that you will never stop seeing who she was, instead of learning who she is now.” 

 

Mina and Tzuyu are just looking at the pale girl with watery eyes, it looked like Dahyun had been holding that in for a while, and it made them realise, even though they said they understood, none really showed it very well. Dahyun’s cheeks are pink and she looks agitated, although she did seem to have, finally, let everything out of her chest. Tzuyu shared an understanding look with each other and decided it was time to calm things down, or, at least, divert the subject a little.

 

Dahyun is still moving rather agitated, not exactly pacing from side to side, but she was restless enough that it would bother anyone watching, so Mina did what she knew would completely change the pale girl’s train of thought. The older got up, Tzuyu was having a hard time holding her laughter, stopped right in front of her target, got Dahyun’s face between her hands and planted a very loud, very obnoxious kiss on the girl’s lips. Then she drew back before Dahyun was able to register anything that was happening, looking smug as ever, the youngest couldn’t resist anymore and broke out in loud and fitful laughter.

 

Breakdown averted, Tzuyu got up, still shaking from laughter, took her sister’s hand and they all headed for Chaeyoung’s, Dahyun was out for the time being, so they might as well just get a move on, there was a very real chance their smallest girlfriend would still be sleeping, at ten thirty in the morning, when they told her they would be there around nine. Yes they were ‘late’, but with Chaeyoung and early mornings, you had to tell her you would be arriving about an hour before you really intended to get there, if you wanted there to be a chance that she was awake. (She was still sleeping)


	62. 62

Here is the “what happened between Chaeyoung and Jihyo on the art studio that one time” chapter I know nobody really wants to read, but I was asked and wrote it anyways.

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 

_ Smash it. _

 

_ Rip it apart. _

 

_ Cut it. _

 

_ Punch it. _

 

_ Slash it. _

 

“All of you, shut up. None of you are really helping.”

 

I hate when I’m like this, some people call it ‘creative process’, I call it annoying voices in my head not helping with anything. It happens sometimes, and I can’t help but let them all out, it looks like I’m speaking to myself, my therapist says it’s alright, but I still don’t want Mina and Tzuyu witnessing it, not yet, at least. They might think I’m acting cold or shunning them out when I lock myself in my studio, but I don’t really think these ‘inspiration streaks’ are all that good.

 

_ Burst that door open and let them see. _

 

_ Let them all see. _

 

_ Come on, they want it. _

 

_ Let us meet them. _

 

“Shut up!”

 

Damn, I really hope the medicine works this time, the last one didn’t do much. Jihyo was the one who helped me when it stopped working, despite having been kind of a cunt to her in the beginning, she was the only one I could really go to when things went south. I know Mina and Tzuyu want to know about it, maybe I’ll tell them someday, but not today, today I just need to be alone for a while.

 

“Chae?” It’s Tzuyu, she didn’t open the door yet. “Can we come in and talk? Are you alright?”

 

I need to keep them out right now. Right, let me just- Okay, this should do the trick. I’ll just throw these down.

 

“Chaeyoung?” They are knocking on the door now, great. “Let us in, please. We are worried.” It’s Mina this time.

 

“I’m fine.” It comes out harsher than I thought it would. “Please, just leave me be for a while.”

 

They walk away, I’m sorry, but this is a side of me I’m not ready to throw on them yet. I’m getting better, yes, but it’s still here and I know it’s not something very nice to deal with. Imma sit in the corner here for a while, maybe quieting down will help. There is someone by the door again, they don’t seem like leaving this time.

 

“Chaeyoung, are you going to talk to Jihyo, now?” Mina’s voice is so small it makes my heart ache.

 

All I can do is let out a pained screech and hold myself a bit tighter. 

 

“Understandable, have a nice day.”

 

And she is gone, faster than I could bring myself to think about what I’m doing. I’m so, so sorry my loves, I really am. There’s not much notion of how long it’s been, but the door opens again, just a crack, and Tzuyu slides my phone into the room, I’m sure it’s her, her hands are chubby, Mina’s are thinner and her fingers look longer. The screen is lit, maybe still in a call?

 

“Chaeyoung, it’s me, Jihyo. Pick it up.”

 

I groan.

 

“Come on, we’ve been through this before, pick it up.”

 

I move and just do as I’m told, she looks great, but very worried and slightly sad. I don’t like this look, it’s the same look I saw the day she bailed me out a few months ago.

 

“Chae, is it happening again? Talk to me.”

 

“It’s not a good day, Ji.” I manage, almost grunting. 

 

“I can see that, but talk to me, what happened?”

 

“I don’t really know, yesterday wasn’t very good. Some kids were being dicks an-”

 

“Language.”

 

“Sorry, some kids were being assholes, and they knocked my soda on one of my sketchbooks, then they just laughed, and I started feeling nervous.”

 

“Did you call mrs Kang?”

 

“I did, we talked on the phone and I went in for a session right after school, today. I took my medicine but it’s still not a good day.”

 

“That’s good, but are you sure you don’t want to tell your girlfriends about this? They are there for you, Chae.”

 

“Not yet. And thank you, for shouldering my attacks with me. I still haven’t paid you back the bail money.”

 

“Hey, no. Look at me.” Her voice is as sweet as it was all those months ago. “You have nothing to pay me back for. And I’ll bail you out as many times as I have to, but I need you to promise me you will talk to Mina and Tzuyu about this.”

 

“I promise I’ll try. Just, not today.”

 

“Okay, not today. Today you will go out there and be with them. Those girls are terrified they messed up.” I make to speak and she just shakes her head. “I mean it, Chaengie, they are more than ready to catch you, just let yourself fall on them. I’m not as close anymore, and I need to know you trust your soulmates to bring you back up when I can’t.”

 

“Okay.” Is all I can say, not trusting myself to speak up anymore.

 

“Great. Now, I’m hanging up and you are going out there and apologise to them, both are really worried about you. No need to tell them anything, just be sure you let them know it’s not their fault, because that is what they are thinking right now.”

 

“I promise, thanks, Ji.”

 

“Nothing to thank me for. Now go, remember I love you and call me whenever you need to.”

 

“Will do, later.”

 

Then I hang up the call, this is a mess, I’m a walking mess. A few months ago, I lost control when I was out shopping for a gift for Tzuyu and Mina, just something I had been meaning to give them for our anniversary, it was a little far, but I wanted to have them done especially for them, it would take some time to get ready. I was at a jewelry ordering the bracelets, explaining how I wanted the design, when a very full of herself woman came in, demanding she was tended to immediately and calling me whatever she could think of that made it clear she found me to be just another dirty kid, spending some scraps she had earned doing part time and her money was better than mine.

 

What really happened is a blurr, all I know is that I was in a hospital, after I came to, the doctor said I took some beating and the officer who came to take my statement explained I jumped the lady and began punching wherever I could land my fists on, the security guard had to get rough when prying me away from the woman. I wasn’t in any deep trouble, everyone on the store said she was in the wrong, and I asked her to stop before snapping, mrs Kang was called to the hospital and told them I had anger issues, maybe some personality disorder that wasn’t confirmed yet, and was very volatile, as my medication was just switched. All I needed to do was call someone to pick me up.

 

My parents were in a business trip, Jeonghoon wasn’t an option, I considered the girls, then. Mina and Tzuyu would ask for a conversation I wasn’t ready to have with them, Nayeon and Momo would also need more information, but Jihyo, she was the perfect option, I knew she wouldn’t ask anything I wasn’t ready to talk about, that’s how our relationship had always been.

 

I asked the doctor to call Jihyo, explaining my parents were out of town and she was the one they told me to call if something like this happened. Once she arrived, everything was easy enough, she paid for the hospital bill and took me home, ordered us some food, I noticed she didn’t eat much and ordered just a little, enough for one, back then we still didn’t know. It was kind of late when I decided to speak up, I told her everything, no idea why, but I couldn’t stop talking, she just listened, never really interrupting me.

 

Once I finished, Jihyo said I could call her whenever, and that she would be glad to spend the night when I asked her for company. I know, now, that the money she spent that night have made a real difference for her, but I only found that out after, which made me even more grateful for what she did, back then we didn’t know she was going to be thrown away, nor that the Ims would take her in, but she still spent the money she had been saving to move on me, without a single complaint or second thought.

 

All I can do now is try and do better, for her, for our friends, for my girlfriends. So I just head to the bathroom to fix myself a bit, before returning to my bedroom to try and allow my girlfriends to care for me.

 

“Micchan, Yuyah, I’m sorry.”

 

“Young-” A voice, Mina?

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Chaeyoung.” It’s closer now.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“CHAEYOUNG!” 

 

I snap awake, Mina, Tzuyu and Dahyun are here? Ho- Oh, right, they were coming over today. Why am I dreaming of that day again? 

 

“Bad dream?” Tzuyu asks, sitting on the edge of my bed.

 

“Yeah, looks like it.”

 

“Well, don’t worry too much, it’s just a dream.” Mina says, kissing my forehead.

 

“Now, go shower. You are sweating like a horse.” Dahyun says, making to get out of my room.

 

“Shouldn’t it be ‘sweating like a pig’?” Tzuyu looks intrigued.

 

“Pigs don’t sweat, Choco. Now, I’ll be downstairs flirting with your piano. Go shower and relax a little.” Dahyun laughs and gets out.

 

Mina and Tzuyu follow right after, I am, indeed, sweating like a horse, the memory was too real. I need to remember to hug Jihyo extra tight when I meet her later.


	63. 63

“You alright there, cub?” Dahyun asks as soon as Chaeyoung enters the living room.

 

“Yeah, thanks. I was just dreaming about your girlfriend.” The smaller answers with a playful smirk.

 

“Yeah, she’s great like that. But seriously, you weren’t looking too good and mumbling ‘sorry’ over and over.” The pale girl gets more serious.

 

“It’ just a memory. A good one, I promise, it’s just- The situation that led to it wasn’t that good.”

 

“Alright, let’s eat something and we can get to fool around with this nice gentleman here.” Dahyun suggests while she caresses the piano with a face Tzuyu wished she wasn’t there to witness.

 

“Unnie, please stop making that face, it’s the stuff nightmares are made of. I still have no idea how you managed to get Jihyo and Chris to accept dating you.” The youngest couldn’t hold back her displeasure anymore.

 

“If you don’t remember, they were the ones who asked me out first.” That irritating smug grin appears again.

 

“What?”

“How?”

 

Mina and Chaeyoung interject at the same time, both looking rather surprised by this information. Dahyun just laughs and Tzuyu shakes her head in defeat, she can never win against Dahyun’s bouts of self confidence. Better just leave it be, or it would certainly escalate very fast, Chou senior has a talent for blowing things out of proportion.

 

“Oh, you guys don’t know?” The small pianist gets so full of herself the girls regret asking. “Jihyo was the one to come onto me first, then Chris professed his undying love as well and I decided to give them a chance. Seeing they couldn’t live without me and all.”

 

“That is half true.” A voice comes from the phone Tzuyu was holding. “I did say I was interested first, and Chris did say he got interested as well, but we can do fine without you. Wanna try?” 

 

Tzuyu called Jihyo and Chris and put them on speaker, she knew Dahyun was going to start exaggerating at some point, and it would be near impossible to make Chaeyoung stop believing whatever nonsense that could come up.

 

“True, I mean, we love you, Hyun. But we are very willing to show we are fine by ourselves, if that’s what you are getting confused about.”

 

“Choco, that was a low blow, we are gonna talk later. And no, I don’t want to know how well you two live without me.” Dahyun huffs in annoyance and everyone witnessing the conversation bursts out laughing.

 

“Good, now be nice and I’ll see you later. Gotta kill my own giant here.” Jihyo hangs up first.

 

“And I have two beautiful ladies to entertain here, I better not be disturbed during my date because you are being annoying anymore.” Chris hangs up right after.

 

“Alright, fine. But that was playing dirty.” Dahyun points at her sister and sits back down, going back to play.

 

The three entertain themselves with ridiculous songs until Chaeyoung comes down, showered and looking much better. Mina and Tzuyu give her a kiss, and Dahyun just pats the bench beside her, nobody asks anything, which the little cub is grateful for, she wasn’t in the mood to talk about it right then, and it was time she sat down with her girlfriends and told them everything, before telling anybody else.

 

Their afternoon is filled with Chaeyoung learning how to rap, all of them finding out she had a lot of talent, Dahyun adventuring with the synthetiser Chris brought along and she figured it would be good to take with, Tzuyu and Mina being quite surprised with how much work had to be put on making a song, even something simple and just for fun like the other two were trying do come up with. It was obvious they were all very worried about Jihyo, seeing how many times her name came up and how they all would look a little grimm and stop talking for a few moments whenever it happened.

 

Sure, Dahyun trusted her girlfriend, she saw how Jihyo was a strong woman of her own, but she heard so much of her past that it was nearly impossible not to worry. Chris witnessed how hard their girl had worked to let go of her past, he was there for all of it, and if Dahyun went by their long, late night talks, it was a very rocky road and they were so good now, she was afraid something would throw all the hard work Jihyo had put on down the drain.

 

The best she could do was trust her girlfriend, and be there for her no matter what happens, Chris would be there as well, both just needed to be ready for whatever came out of this meeting. It would be fine, they would be fine.


	64. 64

Chris had been walking around with Momo in one arm and Nayeon on the other, when Tzuyu had called, he put it on speaker and the whole episode had entertained them so much, none had noticed they had arrived to their first destination, a park very familiar to the two girls. It was where they had their first kiss, where they had their first talk before deciding to try and date each other, the place where Nayeon had cried her heart out right after she got back from leaving Jihyo in another country, and Momo held her through it all.

 

“If we are here this must be really important.” Chris remarks, recognising the park Nayeon had pointed out as ‘their park’ before.

 

“This place means a lot to us, and you mean a lot to us too.” Momo speaks up. “And no, this is not thinking too highly of you.” she adds, seeing the protest to come.

 

“We really don’t, you helped Jihyo in ways we could never, I know we may say this a lot, but it’s the truth. We are very grateful.” Nayeon adds.

 

“She helped me out just as much, I promise. But you two should thank Sawa-chan and Francis as well, they did a lot for both of us.” 

 

“We did, don’t worry. But today is about the three of us going on a date.” Nayeon declares, lighting up the mood. “Show us how you got my little sister to fall for you.”

 

“Oh, that’s a great plan.” Momo chirps.

 

“This might not be exactly what you are looking for, though. I don’t even know myself how Hyo likes me at all.” Chris laughs.

 

“What do you mean?” The peach is intrigued.

 

“You know those cases where two people are really good friends, have a really great dynamics and just work well together?” Chris asks, getting nods as answers. “We were like that. One day we were just like ‘why don’t we just date each other?’ and none could come up with a reason not to.”

 

“So you are telling us you two are just great friends who decided to date just because?” Nayeon is really trying to understand.

 

“That is exactly what I’m saying. It was a little after Amy got a new boyfriend, he went to their dorm and asked us if we were a couple, then Jihyo asked why not, and I said we should just date, since nobody was doing anything anyways.” He shrugs.

 

“Now that’s anticlimactic.” Momo mutters and Nayeon agrees. “I was hoping for some grand realisation and an exaggerated love gesture and whatnot.”

 

“Sorry to disappoint, but nothing like that happened. It was more exciting with Dahyun, at least, with her, there was a confession involved, not just ‘let’s date’ and the other agreeing.”

 

“So Dubs gets to be confessed to but my little sister doesn’t?” The bunny playfully complains. “I didn’t raise that girl to be treated like that. We better be seeing some grand gesture soon.” 

 

“I may or may not have a little something for when we get back, but that involves us being very well rested and Jisung not being back yet.” The boy gets shy.

 

“I better not become an aunt anytime soon. Also, my little baby’s virtue will never be taken away! NEVER!” Nayeon gets a little too defensive.

 

“Will you get your head out of the gutter? I’m planning on taking them hiking and then bribing Sawa-chan to cook us a great dinner before we watch a movie and sleep in front of the new heater I bought.” Chris has an incredulous expression.

 

“That is a great plan, maybe throw in some gifts for them when you guys get to the beautiful view of whatever trail you are taking.” Momo encourages, ignoring her girlfriend.

 

“Okay, I really did like your idea, BUT! I’m still not backing down on protecting my little baby sister.” The eldest doesn’t back down.

 

“Could you please stop? I’m not ready for that yet, and they both understand. We already talked about it and I told them they could go ahead and not include me.” The boy is completely red now.

 

“Yeonnie, please let this go, I don’t need to know about the details of Jihyo’s sex life, or lack of one.” Momo decides to take pity on the increasingly embarrassed guy.

 

“Fine!” Nayeon huffs. “Honestly, I don’t think I want to know either, I’ve seen too much already.” She shoots a knowing look.

 

“So, where are we headed next?” He tries to divert their attention.

 

“We are headed to the restaurant I took Yeon on our first date!” Momo cheers.

 

“It’s not lunch time yet?” 

 

“Oh, Christopher, my sweet child, these matters are irrelevant.” The peach gets pompous and a bit cocky. “We eat whenever we will.” Than she deflates. “And Nayeonnie has other plans for lunch.”

 

“How much are we eating today?” 

 

“Don’t worry that little head of yours about it. Just follow us and you’ll do fine.” Nayeon shushes. “And we are going to a coffee bar, not really a cafe, more like a place where they have many types of coffee from many places around the world and we go there to taste them.”

 

“Sounds great, take me away, ladies.” 

 

The place was indeed very interesting, right when you opened the door, a pleasant and very strong aroma of coffee hit you and remained there, the wall behind the counter was lined with tubes of beans, all different colors and, according to the writings on them, from very different places, the employees were very nice and welcoming, a bit hyper, but Chris just reasoned it should be all the caffeine around them all day, everyday. They sat at the bar, Momo had made a reservation, and the owner was dating Hana, so they got the tasting menu and the best seats.

 

The rest of their morning was filled with tasting many different types of coffee and the treats that accompanied them, it was very pleasant and their conversations flowed so easily that Nayeon and Momo left the place knowing everything about the guy, from how he wet the bed until he was eight because he was scared of the shower curtain, to how he had a lot of trouble with romantic relationships because growing up with a withered bud made him a little numb to love and everything that came with it.

 

They found out how Jihyo had so much love to give and spared none to him, how that helped in understanding how to open up and be more accepting of others caring for him. Chris had also revealed he got lucky when they brought Dahyun over, and the girl was so accepting, it was nice to get to know someone who, like him, had lost, but, differently, had loved as well. He learned that what he felt wasn’t all that he should be feeling, that it would be difficult, but he too could learn to care for people deeply.

 

It was a great morning, and the rest of the day was promising to be just as good, if Nayeon and Momo could manage to keep the pace and the conversation flowing, Chris was proving, yet again, to be a sweet boy, who just happened to be unfortunate throughout his life, but would open up and get you warmed up to him given the chance.


	65. 65

This was a good decision, right? It’s not like she could keep avoiding it, and she was fine, she was doing great now, no reason to keep avoiding the couple, they were her soulmates afterall. Not that being her soulmates meat much to her, but still, Sana and Jeongyeon were nice enough, and she was fine, wasn’t she?!

 

Tzuyu’s call managed to lighten up her mood a little, but there she was again, waiting for the girls to show up and getting a bit anxious in the process. Jihyo tended to overthink when left to her own devices during stressful situations, so here she was, about to pace in front of the bench she had been sitting at, but she was faced with two stunned girls not that far from her that got her all that more agitated.

 

“Hi-hi” Jihyo cleans her throat, fidgeting. “How long have you two been there for?”

 

“We don’t know?” Sana snaps out of her reverie. “I’m sorry, it’s just-”

 

“It’s okay.” Jihyo assures them. “I just thought I got stood up.”

 

“No, not at all. We just kinda, you know.” Jeongyeon stammers.

 

“I know. Let’s have a seat, yeah?” The shorter one offers.

 

They do sit down, but the awkward silence falls relentlessly upon them, none really knowing what to do. Jihyo had already broken the ice, Sana was feeling the pressure to say something, anything, and Jeongyeon was just not sure of what she even wanted to say at all. So here we have them, three soulmates, two clueless ones, the other one not meant for them, it was heartbreaking if one looked closely.

 

“It’s weird that we are attracted to you, even though we never really talked that much, right?” Jeongyeon blows without being able to hold back any longer.

 

“Jeong! I thought we would ease up to things like that.” Sana tries to sound reprimanding.

 

“It’s not weird.” Jihyo answers anyways, a fond smile plays on her lips. “You can ask me anything you want to know. I’ll answer what I can.”

 

“Great, because I’m terrible with this subtle thing and there are many things I want to talk about.” Jeongyeon looks truly relieved.

 

Jihyo laughs, easy and heartily. The other two smile shyly, feeling more at ease with the ‘go ahead’ from the girl who never left their minds.

 

“Before that, can we move to a warmer place? I’ve been here too long and my butt is starting to feel numb.” Jihyo asks in a laugh.

 

“Sure! Do you think you would be comfortable going to my place, or do you want to go for a coffee shop?” Jeong offers.

 

“I think coffee shop would be better. Maybe we can talk visiting you later.”

 

“Fair enough, there is a great place around here, and their tables a very private.” Sana says, getting up and motioning for the other two to follow.

 

Jihyo follows the couple, walking beside them and making small talk, getting to know a little about each other, the one out noticing her soulmates were actually very nice, and trying to get rid of her nerves before the fated talk she felt she owed her soulmates. Jeongyeon was a pile of nerves and it took everything on her to hold it together, and Sana was just too happy to, finally, be able to talk to Jihyo like this.

 

“Hey, Yongsunnie!” Sana greets as soon as she sets foot into the shop.

 

“I told you to say Yongsun-unnie and stop cutting words. Oh, hey Jeong.” The woman behind the counter scolds Sana before turning to her girlfriend. “You guys brought a friend today.” She directs the last part to Jihyo.

 

“Hello, I’m Im Jihyo, very nice to meet you.” The girl greets.

 

“And a cute one at that.” Yongsun turns back to Sana. “Your usual table is free, if you want it. The usual for you two?” She asks the couple, getting nods as a response. “And, Jihyo-ssi, what can I get you?”

 

“No need to be formal.” She laughs. “I’ll take a tea you recommend.”

 

“Now that’s the kind of customer I like. Go on ahead, I’ll have hyejin take your order when it’s ready.” The woman shoos the girls and they are off.

 

Jihyo just follows the couple, not really knowing where said table was, turns out, it’s the furthest one in the back, and placed in a way to make it fairly isolated from the one right next to it, both take what Jihyo thinks is their usual seats, leaving her with her back to the store, she isn’t that enthusiastic about it, but just brushes it off. Not much after they sit down, really instants after, a girl came by with their dinks, shooting Jihyo a... peculiar(?) smile and leaves. Time to start talking, it seems.

 

“Okay, we are warm, with our drinks and I’m fairly sure nobody can disrupt us easily. Ask away.” Jihyo prompts, seeing the other two aren’t moving.

 

“Can I just say everything that’s on my mind instead? I’m not sure what I should be asking and I start talking too much when I get nervous.” Jeongyeon, unsurprisingly, speaks up first.

 

“You already are talking too much. But I get where you are going.” Jihyo calms the girl down. “Sure, say anything you want. I think this conversation is long overdue, somehow.” Sana just held a fond expression all the while.

 

“Okay, first, I’m sorry for like, not really making sure you were alright the day Sana fell on us. I kind of let my flowers blooming thing get to my head and didn’t pay attention to the one that had the most injuries at all.” The older one begins, with a deep bow.

 

“It’s all in the past. I get that finding your soulmate could be a bit overwhelming, especially when it happens like that. I was fine, there were no greater issues.” The younger dismisses.

 

“Still, it was a dick move.” Sana interjects. “And I would like to apologise for that also. I was the one falling on you, then I let myself get all riled up by my flowers and forgot to mind you that day.”

 

“Like I said, finding your soulmate is an experience. It’s alright, and I don’t hold it against you two.”

 

“Thank you. Now, I know we tried to approach you after that, and we might have come off as annoying, but, at least for me, I really wanted to apologise for how I handled things.” Jihyo makes to speak, but Jeongyeon keeps going before she can. “And no, none of the girls told us much about what was happening, and they were very protective of you, but, once we learned of how things had been for you back then, I felt awful. Not because of misplaced concern or whatever, but because we might not have been the best people to be around when you were going through so much.”

 

“Tough times, back then. It’s alright, the girls were the only ones who knew, and it even took them a long time to find out. I don’t blame anyone for whatever happened, that’s on the people who gave birth to me, but now I have nothing to do with them, and that’s that.”

 

“You are very relaxed about all this.” Sana chimes in.

 

“Well, I learned a lot from many people. And it would be great if you guys could just let go of whatever happened in the past. We are kids, it’s time to make these mistakes, you two were trying your best, and I’m grateful for that.” 

 

“Alright, will do. But there is something that’s been bothering me, us, ever since we met you, and I really want to know you view on it.” The squirrel decides to just ask it already.

 

“I’m all ears. This is supposed to be a ‘the two of you get to talk to me about whatever you need’ kind of meet up.” Jihyo laughs, and the two seem to relax a bit more.


	66. 66

“Okay. alright.” Sana breathes deeply. “Here’s the thing, I have this weird attraction to you ever since I fell on you, and there is no way I can wrap my head around it, because it’s very close to the way I feel about Jeong, although not as strong anymore.”

 

“Yeah, I feel the same.” Jeongyeon jumps at the chance to, finally, get some answers. “Like, it was really strong when we just met, and it broke my heart that you didn’t want anything to do with us back then, but it’s still here.”

 

“It’s weird, right?” Sana freaks out a little.

 

“It’s not, but I need you two to promise not to freak out. Because both of you are very agitated right now.” Jihyo gets nods before continuing. “Answer me some questions, okay? Just follow me and we’ll get to the same place.”

 

“Now I’m getting anxious.” Jeongyeon says and Sana agrees.

 

“How many flowers do you have? Each of you.” Time to come out, it seems.

 

“Two. But what does that have to do with anything?” Sana gets a little doubtful.

 

“Calm down, I’m just asking. Now, how many flowers do people usually get?”

 

“One?” Jeongyeon raises an eyebrow. “Bu-”

 

“Alright, and how many people do you know that also have two flowers?”

 

“In my case, four.” Sana looks like she is getting there.

 

“I know seven. There is a guy who works for my dad who has two flowers.” Jeongyeon chimes in.

 

“Right, so, how many soulmates do those people have?” 

 

“Two?” Jeongyeon still doesn’t get it.

 

Sana got it, though. And she is looking like she wants to cry, Jihyo just hopes she doesn’t, she never handles others crying too well. 

 

“Good, so, how many soulmates do you have?”

 

Now Jeongyeon gets it, and both do start crying. Jihyo is a little uncomfortable, but she schools herself not to let it show. Jeongyeon was sobbing and Sana was tearing up silently.

 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sana manages to whisper out.

 

“You learned about how I was back then, where my life was heading. There was no chance I was going to speak up when you two had already settled.” Jihyo smiles comfortingly. 

 

“We had the right to know.” Jeongyeon bites, voice strangled by the tears.

 

“And I had the right not to tell you. It can go both ways, Jeongyeon-ssi. The truth of it is, you two never considered me as an option, and I agreed that I was not meant to be in that relationship.”

 

“We still had the right to know.” The older begs again.

 

“I know you did. But I also know you two know I had the right to walk away. I’m not trying to escape my part of the guilt in this. I’m just asking you to remember yours.”

 

“I’m so sorry.” Sana speaks up and immediately breaks down.

 

“Don’t be, it’s behind us. Let’s just move forward and not get held back by our past.” Jihyo offers some tissues she had brought, napkins tended to be a bit rough on the skin.

 

“No. I can’t just brush it off like that. You are our soulmate and we never even saw you. None of us, we never looked at you the way we should, and now you won’t look at us like you could.” Jeongyeon is a little more composed by now.

 

“That I won’t. Don’t let yourselves get held back by me, though. You two have each other, I’m sure there have been worse situations you faced together.”

 

“There were some rough patches. But you, you faced it all without us sparing you a single glance. We were the obnoxious and self-centered soulmates that couldn’t even wrap their heads around the fact that we had another one.” The taller girl keeps insisting.

 

“Well, that is something my girlfriend experienced and lost, and my boyfriend never had the chance to know about, having a soulmate and being with them, I mean. With Chris, I learned I could live and be honestly happy without my soulmates, and Dahyun showed us both that giving yourself another chance at happiness is important. I never had any ill will towards any of you, and I can just hope you find it in yourselves to forgive me someday.”

 

“I could never resent you for what you decided, Jihyo.” Sana reaches across the table and takes one of her hands. “I just wish things had happened differently. There are so many what ifs, but I can only believe that this was the best result for everyone.”

 

“I don’t think badly of you either.” Jeongyeon also reaches out. “It’s just- It’s sad that we only got to know what you meant to us now, after everything has already changed, after you found your own way and that way doesn’t include us.”

 

“Thank you. It doesn’t have to not include you.” Jihyo offers. “No, I’m not going to have a romance with you two, but we can be friends? It sounds cliche and all, but I really don’t think there is a reason to avoid each other and all.”

 

“But you are our soulmate.” Jeongyeon pouts.

 

“I am. That doesn’t mean we have to be in a romantic relationship with each other, there are lots of people that don’t end up with their soulmates, some never really meet, others are gone too soon, but we aren’t any of those, we are all here, you two are good with each other, and I don’t fit in there.”

 

“That doesn’t mean we can’t make a place for you.” Sana tries, about to cry again.

 

“And it doesn’t mean it’s the best for us all either. Look, we met in the wrong circumstances, I wasn’t in a place where I thought I deserved anything, and not at all in a state of mind to be involved with anyone. I had to go, it was the only thing I could think of, and it never crossed my mind to do anything other than that.”

 

“Still, you could have told us. Should have told us.” The older one insists. “We felt it, and I know you felt it too, this thing, this attraction we have for each other.”

 

“I should, but didn’t. That’s on me, and I’m not denying it. But I need you to see that things wouldn’t work out even if I did, I would still leave, we would still not have dated and you two would be dealing with this much worse than you are now.” Jihyo stops Jeongyeon’s protest before it comes out. “Think about it, Jeongyeon-ssi, we grew so much since then, you were overwhelmed, we all were, about finding your soulmate, things went well between the two of you, but you know it wouldn’t with me.”

 

“He is right, Jeong.” Sana, always the most mature of the couple, tries to help. “We were in the ‘I found my soulmate’ haze, and it would have been so much messier back then. I wouldn’t cope well with finding Jihyo and not getting to be with her, and I know you wouldn’t either.”

 

“Okay, I see her point, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to sulk and complain about everything that happened.” Jeongyeon sulks, very cutely.

 

Jihyo smiles and Sana lets out a wet laugh, this went better than expected. Sure, it was going to be a long and hard process for the couple to understand how this ‘we have another soulmate but can’t be with her’ thing was going to work, but they understood why it happened, and saw that it was for the best as well. Better be friends with your soulmate than to not have them around at all, at least, that’s what Jihyo believes in at the moment.


	67. 67

“Can I get some water, please?” Jihyo decided to give the couple a while to digest things a bit. “And another tea, if possible?”

 

“Everything alright?” The woman at the counter, Youngsun(?) asks.

 

“Just a conversation that’s long overdue, but it’s fine. I just thought they needed some time to take everything in.” Jihyo smiles.

 

“They are good kids, you know.” Youngsun offers with a smile.

 

“I know. I just think I gave them too much to think about.” The girl smiles back. “I’m just trying to give them some time to compose themselves better.”

 

“I’m sure you are thinking of the best for all, just don’t be too harsh with them.”

 

“Promise I won’t. But I know they can take everything I’m throwing at them.” Jihyo nods before taking her order and heading back.

 

The girl finds Sana cradling a still sobbing Jeongyeon to the best of her abilities, given the tight space the booth provided. She smiles a little saddened, but she needed to tell them, this had been put off long enough, they deserved to know as much as she had the right not to tell them, and, despite the pull of their mates bringing her to the other two, her heart was somewhere else entirely, with someone(s) else entirely.

 

“Are you two better?” The smaller one asks, handing out the water bottles.

 

“As good as we can be right now, I think.” Sana seems to be the only one able to talk. “Jeong is always the soft one.” Said girl lets out a wet chuckle.

 

“She does look like that. To think the school girl crush, Yoo ‘ms Steal Your Girl, and Boy, and Dog if you let her’ Jeongyeon is just this huge pile of fluff… Honestly, this is kind of a turn off.” Jihyo teases and it seems to take effect instantly.

 

Jeongyeon ceases her silent moping, looking offended to the nth level, and only gets more irritated when she sees Sana shaking, failing miserably to hold her laughter and Jihyo sporting the biggest shit-eating grin she had ever seen in her life. That gets the taller girl’s blood to boil and she finds it difficult to even form proper sentences at the moment.

 

It stays still for a few minutes, it felt like seconds to Jihyo, who already had an arsenal of teasing to throw at the older one, slow minutes to Sana, who was fighting for her life trying to hold laughter, she still wanted to snuggle her girlfriend to sleep that night, and hours to Jeongyeon, who had lost all capabilities of coherent thought and was struggling to remember how to keep herself standing up. Then everything breaks, just because Sana let a small splutter escape her.

 

“Okay, what the hell are you saying? When did I ever become that popular?” Jeongyeon seethes.

 

“You sweet, sheltered, desired girl. You and ms Minatozaki ‘Osaka’s Greatest Gift to Humanity’ Sana over here have been breaking hearts since you set foot in that school.”

 

“What? That doesn’t even make sense! Are you just making things up because we kind of ditched you?” Jeong immediately regrets her words, but relaxes when she sees Jihyo is unbothered.

 

“Sweetheart, I’m not the one thirstying after someone here.” Jihyo cuts the taller one, who was about to protest. “No need to be shy about it, I know I’m hot now. And answering your question, the best way to know about any school is spending time at the student council’s office, especially if you manage to make yourself invisible.”

 

“No.” Is the only thing Jeongyeon manages to say after standing still and opening and closing her mouth for a while.

 

“Okay, please stop breaking her, I still need cuddles tonight.” Sana pulls her girlfriend down, having managed to stop her boisterous laughter.

 

“Alright, but I do have a lot of good ones, though.” Jihyo sits back, looking like she won the biggest bet of her life. “Glad it worked.” The last part is whispered, but the look on Sana’s face tells Jihyo she caught it.

 

“Jihyo.” Jeongyeon blurts out. “If it’s alright with you, and with your boyfriend and girlfriend, is it-”

 

“Yes, we can meet again, Jeong.” Jihyo decides to cut the rambling, smiling to the couple. “They have been wanting to meet you two as well.”

 

“Oh, good. That’s good.” The older sighs in relief. “So-”

 

“Can we have your number, then?” Sana cuts in, knowing another rambling is coming. “We are fine messaging through Nayeon and all, but we would like to talk to you every once in a while after you go away again.”

 

Jihyo ponders, they ARE her soulmates, but she still isn’t sure about it. This would mean opening communications, at the same time, she already has the ones she loves by her own choice, not some universal plot to get her together with anyone. Sure, the pull of her soulmates exist, but her heart is not with them. Her hesitation seems to have shown, because Sana is about to speak again, when Jihyo stops the girl.

 

“Sure, give me your phone.” And Sana does. “Here you go, you can send it to Jeong later, I don’t wanna touch her phone, it’s probably all sticky and all, if the rumors about her libido are true.”

 

Jeongyeon springs up again, but doesn’t say anything, just looks upon the girls laughing at her expense, sure she may or may not be a bit…… needy? but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t clean her phone after. And, how dare Sana not defend her, fine, Sana picked up her phone by mistake and got her hands sticky, but that was ONE time! They decide to end their little meetup, Jihyo calls Nayeon to see where the girl was, turns out, the three had been lurking nearby waiting for her call for about an hour already.

 

Sana is the first one to bid goodbye, Jihyo said she was okay with hugs, but the girl decided to settle for a side-hug, not ready for that much contact yet. Jeongyeon manages, a painfully awkward semi-hug, that was really just a pat on the shoulder a little closer to each other. They go their separate ways, Jihyo just wanting to be held by her lovers, not at all in the mood to talk, the couple heads to the Yoos knowing they had a very long night with a very long conversation waiting for them.


	68. 68

_ “You alright there, love?”  _

 

_ “Much better than I thought I would be, thanks Chris.” _

 

_ “It’s nothing, Hyo, let’s just get Hyun and get some cuddles on.” _

 

_ “I like the sound of that, how about some naps as well?” _

 

_ “We can work on that.” _

 

They laugh, Nayeon and Momo have been observing ever since they went to get Jihyo, and, honestly, they are surprised at how well she is looking after meeting her fated ones and spending an entire afternoon with them. Maybe Chris and Dahyun did know things they didn’t, and the Jihyo they know is this one in front of them, obviously disturbed by the encounter, but not at all shaken.

 

“Ji!” Was the only warning she got once she was through the door of the Sons’ house.

 

“Chae, let me take my shoes off, at least.” The trapped girl begged with some difficulty.

 

“No can do.” The smaller girl answers and tightens her hold, making it clear she doesn’t intend on letting go.

 

_ “I’ll help you out, hun.” _ Chris laughs and helps his girlfriend to remove her shoes, before being dragged into the house.

 

“Oh, she got you already.” Tzuyu comments when she sees her girlfriend and the unsuspecting prey come into the living room. 

 

“Chaengie has been going on and on about needing to hug you today.” Mina explains, as she comes from the kitchen. “Just accept it, you know she gets clingyer the more you try to escape her.”

 

“I know, but I really want to pee. Can you let me go for that, Youngie?” Jihyo tries.

 

“We can go together, come on.” And she drags the pleading girl away.

 

The group just laughs, Dahyun had a glimpse of clingy Chaeyoung when she had last visited, but nothing close to this, but Chris would have never imagined the troublemaker, wildcard Son Chaeyoung could get like this. It was incredibly entertaining, and if Jihyo needed to be sacrificed, so be it, they were willing to throw her to the beast for their amusement. That, and Chaeyoung was a toothless tiger with her loved ones, looks dangerous but can’t hurt any of them.

 

“Aren’t you two going to move to try and save your girl?” Mina decides to ask.

 

“Nah, we’re willing to throw her to the beast if it’s fun enough.” Dahyun shrugs and cuddles onto Chris, who was sitting on the couch.

 

“Oh, so you two are like that, huh?” Nayeon fakes offense.

 

“Like you wouldn’t put her up as an offering in a heartbeat if we weren’t here.” Chris teases, and all of them burst out laughing.

 

It takes a few minutes, but Jihyo comes back, mumbling what sounds suspiciously like curses in japanese (Mina and Momo understand perfectly, but choose to not bring it up), looking disheveled and very much tired of the small baby beast already. She plops herself down on the floor, the carpet on the Sons’ house had always been suspiciously comfortable, and she will forever pretend she never heard Mr Son commenting his kids were made on a previous version of said carpet that one time she made the mistake to pay attention to what the adults were talking about.

 

“So.” Jihyo sighs. “What are we doing? On that note, I’m hungry.”

 

“We were thinking some nice pasta, some salad and a little ice cream for dessert.” Mina explains.

 

“That sounds very nice indeed.” Chris agrees, trying to get Dahyun to stop clinging so tightly.

 

“Glad you liked the idea, because none of us really know how to make it properly and were waiting for you two to arrive.” Chaeyoung perks up.

 

“Hold up, yall were willing to keep waiting until we showed up to eat?” Jihyo looks baffled. “What if we had just called Hyun and had her meet us anywhere else?”

 

“In that case, we would have to think of something else, but let’s not talk about what didn’t happen and just be grateful you three are here.” The smallest one says before cuddling back into Jihyo.

 

“Okay, Channie, Hyun, we are out of here!” The girl makes to get up, but Chaeyoung is making it a great challenge for her.

 

“Calm down, babe. The kids are just hungry, how about we whip something up for everybody and you can tell us how your day went?!” Dahyun diffuses the situation easily, and drags her girl to the kitchen, with a laughing Chris behind them.

 

They end up making dinner for everyone, Mr Son was personally offended by how good it was, saying his pride as a pasta maker was wounded, Mrs Son just told her husband to be quiet and enjoy the food, they would talk later. At the end of the day, they were well fed and spent a nice evening talking in the living room with one of Nayeon’s bad dramas playing in the background.


	69. 69

In no time at all, the trio’s vacation was over, and they were thrown back into their daily struggle to get into college, sure, Dahyun and Jihyo were planning to return for the youngest ones’ graduation the next march, Chris had already said he couldn’t make it, his parents were demanding his presence in whatever extended family event was happening, and it was one of those things they had to, at least, show up and be seen.

 

Their time went by like a blur of music sheets, endless melodies that merged together and senseless lyrics that fit nothing and anything at the same time. The three of them were so invested that their dating life had been put on hold for too long. It’s not that they fell out of love with each other, and not at all that they intended to break up, but things just cooled down to a point it didn’t look like they were in a romantic relationship at all. 

 

With that in mind, a week before they were meant to depart, Jidung had had enough, and asked Sawako and Francis for help to get his friends to rekindle that flame. The boy had warmed up to all of them, even opening up about his past, which made Jihyo apologise without having to, because she felt that her own past was nothing compared to what the boy was put through. Jisung was too awkward to handle that and resorted to just hugging the girl until she had cried it all out. Good times.

 

When the time came, the girls sent Chris off in the morning and found a comfortable spot to wait for their own flight. Those days they would have without Chris, and him without his girls, would mean the beginning of great changes for them, and the end result might be seen as surprising, but they would manage, they always get through. While the girls were waiting, though, a nice old lady sat beside them and complimented the two, saying they were a very cute couple, before her husband called her.

 

“ _Well, I guess we settled one of the hundreds of statements you and Chris are always trying to deny.”_ Dahyun ‘rages’ as soon as the lady walks away.

 

“ _And what would that be, hun?”_ Jihyo raises her eyebrows in amusement.

 

“ _That I am the cutest between us. The lady said so herself.”_

 

 _“Don’t flatter yourself that much, she probably found you different and it got her interest.”_ Jihyo scoffs. “ _And you being a midget helped a lot, might I add.”_

 

_“Tell me again why I don’t break up with you?”_

 

_“Because we both know I get to keep Chris and Yucchan in the divorce.”_

 

 _“That-”_ Dahyun pauses a little and sighs. “ _That’s true. I hate when you are right like that.”_

 

 _“Don’t worry, babe, I’m not planning on letting you go that easily.”_ The older girl kisses the pale one’s head. “ _And I’m sure Chris won’t either. Now give me kisses and let’s try to get some sleep, we still have five hours to wait around.”_

 

_“I can do kisses and sleep.”_

 

They laugh, but Dahyun kisses Jihyo with all the love she had for the girl and they snuggle up to sleep regardless. Their visit couldn’t have gone faster, they took five days off, meaning they were staying for three of them, barely enough to see their kids graduate (Tzuyu and Chaeyoung weren’t very happy about being called that and never missed Chris more). Jeongyeon and Sana showed up for the ceremony, they talked to everyone for a short while and were a little sad when they found out Dahyun and jihyo weren’t staying long, and didn’t really have enough time to meet them again.

 

When they got back, Chris was already waiting for them, and Jisung even joked about their ‘failed vacation escapade without the smelly guy’, as he called it. The boy had become accustomed to them, and opened up quite a lot, surprisingly, the trio found out he was very funny and very nice to be around. Even little Rob, despite being a very hard working boy, would be the puppy he is around them. Things got better when Jihyo demanded everyone took the day off and went to the gym and work out those pent up frustrations their lack of progress was causing them. 

 

Jisung got dragged along because just because he made the mistake to be lazing on the couch and talking to them. He became Jihyo and Sawako’s gym buddy after that, much to Chris’ displeasure, now he had one more bugging him to get his muscles working and, maybe, some of that gut he started to cultivate to go away. He argued that his gut was expensive, and only fed the best foods (if you ignore his late ramen n’ chills with Dahyun, who was also on gym patrol, had been since the first time her and Jihyo made out and the older’s abs became a complaint for her).

 

“ _Okay, why am I here with you all?_ ” Chris asks, as soon as he hops off the treadmill.

 

“ _Because you don’t want to be a slob, you girlfriends are smoking hot on those gym tights and you are a jealous little bitch who will complain if you are not around to make sure they don’t dump you.”_ Jisung answers, laughing and still running just beside him.

 

“ _Okay, first, they won’t dump me for a cool buff guy, with a charming smile and those glistening muscles that will look so nice they will ask to touch.”_ Chris begins his rant, between swigs of his water.

 

“ _Whatever you have to tell yourself. But that description is oddly specific to be coincidental.”_ Jisung, finally, stopped running for the sake of rubbing it in.

 

“ _Look at Kento over there”_ The taller boy motions to one of their classmates doing some curls right in front of them (across the gym) “ _and tell me you are not feeling an urge to just rub your face on those abs.”_

 

 _“I’m telling your girlfriends.”_ Then he turns and calls for the girls. “ _HyoHyun! Your boyfriend is cheating!”_ Loud enough for the people around them to laugh at Chris’ dispair.

 

“ _My, my, my. I never thought you were like that.”_ Dahyun is the first one to tease.

 

“ _I can explain.”_ He stammers and wish he could hit Jisung right then.

 

“ _That’s what cheaters say. I do have to admit, I never expected this from you, you know we don’t do cheating.”_ Jihyo just adds fuel to the fire.

 

“ _Just take a look at Kento over there”_ He points “ _the guy with the green tank top. And tell me you are not willing to rub your face on those abs.”_

 

The girls do look, and, boy, did they want to do just that. Kento was a japanese student on some of Chris and Jisung’s classes, they had seen him around, but said boy enjoyed his hoodies and baggy pants, and that very well sculpted body was something nobody could guess laid beneath all that clothing. The boy, if they could call him that, was one of those big kids, with a large frame and, apparently, very well built muscles, and the four of them stood there, trying and failing to be subtle about their staring. Jihyo and Dahyun had finished their training earlier and had been lurking around to wait for the boys, now that they were done, everybody was free to just creep around and admire the hardworking people.

 

Sawako was the one to knock them out of their thirst, quite literally, she got two bottles from the ones they had left on the ground and gave all four some help cooling down, before smacking them upside the head, and dragging them back to the dorm. The woman would never admit it was one of the most amusing things the group had ever done, and that they looked quite cute at it, but she did tell them to have some water before shooing all away. It was nice seeing her kids forget the stress for a while, they had been sleeping too little and not eating enough ever since they started their scholarship application thingy.


	70. 70

To say time went by quicker than anyone could follow was an understatement, and, soon enough, their college applications were being sent off, the musicians were performing their required pieces and then everyone was nervous about their entrance letters. Indeed, two years went by too fast, Sawako had stepped down as dorm head about six months ago, together with Francis, and their replacements just weren’t it, so, the all nighters and the weekend visits had been transferred to Dahyun’s dorm permanently, much to Jisung’s distaste, as he couldn’t always join the other two on going over.

 

But, the dark ages were over and graduation was upon them. Having decided to just rent out an apartment instead of going for the dorms, it would be cheaper, with the four of them, Rob would stop receiving dirty looks from the people who took him for a mere pet, and it was, surprisingly, closer to their campus’ buildings. Therefore, their choice to not apply for the dorms was a no-brainer, the boys moved in first, their classes had finished a few days before Jihyo’s, and Dahyun was coming from another town with the Chous, the trip would take two or three days and her classes ended a few days after Jihyo’s.

 

Sure, their graduation would be earlier than the rest of the girls in Korea, but everyone agreed that it would be better for the trio to go in march and everyone else not come in february, they would have a few weeks after to stay in Korea, before classes began, and it was cheaper for everyone. So, there they were, Nayeon and Tzuyu had been the ones most excited about it, Saying they would have the most fun and make the others at home jealous. They did stay true to their words.

 

Right after her classes were over, Jihyo and her parents moved her into the new apartment, Nayeon helped too after some kicking from her mother, and were very happy to, finally, see where their little would be spending her college years. Their apartment was not that big, there was a living room/dining room and a small kitchen right after they entered, no entry hall or anything, just a small space in front of the door to remove their shoes. It had two bedrooms, in opposite directions, each bedroom had its own bathroom and shower, and there was a small bathroom with just a toilet and a sink between them. Overall a very nice apartment indeed.

 

The boys would be rooming together, and so would the girls. Given that Jihyo and Dahyun were the fitness freaks, they got the front room, that got the most sunlight in the mornings, Chris was very adamant about his sleeping schedule and took the opportunity to go in earlier and get installed on the bed that got the least illumination possible, and nobody was moving him, no matter what was at stake. Jisung and Jihyo found it absurdly entertaining, Dahyun had some problems with it, as she liked her sleep too, but relented after whatever it was Jihyo had whispered in her ear, with a very bright blush.

 

Everything went well, for the most part, until one day when Jisung had gone into a camping trip with his percussion class, for four days, and the trio was left to their own devices in their own house, with nobody to enforce any rules upon them, meaning, the three found themselves making an awesome fort in the living room and watching all those bad b movies about whatever idiotic teenage drama Jisung had always refused to let any of them watch, claiming it was just too mind numbing and it would kill their braincells that should be put into writing songs, if they had the time to be watching that trash.

 

Sure, those movies were bad (understatement, but not the point) but they enjoyed not having to think, just sit there and judge the characters for being stupid and the very bad choices the producers might have been forced into, given their budget. Chris was still dragged to work out by the girls, and he had actually started getting his abs and arms tighter, and none of his girlfriends were about to complain, sure both had those eleven abs he enjoyed so much, and of course it was one of the reasons that got him out of his ass, but that’s not something anybody needed to know of.

 

What nobody expected, though, was the sudden return of their handler (namely Jisung), and their movies to be forced into an abrupt stop. The trio was surprised, but got immediately worried when a muddy Rob entered the living room, and Jihyo sprung up in time to snatch the dog before it could enter and make everything else muddy, he liked to shake very much.

 

“ _ What happened? Why are you back so soon? What is this mud all about?”  _ Jihyo starts questioning sternly.

 

“ _ Also, take your pants and shirt off, you are not crossing the apartment and spreading that mud all over. You can come back to it after you shower and clean Rob up as well.”  _ Dahyun adds before the boy could react.

 

“ _ Just wash Rob and give him to me, I’ll dry him out. Now get moving, you are soaked and Rob is squirming too much.”  _ Chris finishes and urges Jisung to do as told.

 

At least they got out of the earful about their previous activities. Jisung just followed their instructions and plopped, face first, into his bed as soon as he could. Next morning they found out that there was a small storm on their campsite and, believe it or not, Rob and him had managed to take little damage.


	71. 71

To say their first few months of college were hard would be a lie, Dahyun was pulling off two majors, Jihyo was juggling her own school work and two jobs beautifully and Jisung self managed so well, he had free nights to laze around despite being in nursing school and also having a job, the problem in the apartment was named Christopher Bang, and he was so far gone that the other three had given up on the third week and remained unbothered ever since, it was a secret agreement that none would mind the guy’s crisis that was brought upon him by his own carelessness.

 

Nayeon and Momo were waiting for them to visit that weekend and the three were more than willing to leave Chris behind without a shred of regret if he didn’t get his act together in time. The couple had gotten into the University of Calgary and had rented a small house there, for a surprisingly good price as well, and they hadn’t met since classes began, so here they were, monday night, having dinner and watching Chris suffer through his papers that were supposed to have been done weeks before.

 

“ _ Are we going to do anything about that?” _ Jisung asks, lowly enough for just the two girls to hear.

 

“ _ Obviously not. I mean, we are all up to date with our own loads, and we are all doing much more than he is.”  _ Jihyo concludes.

 

“ _ I mean, there is nothing we can really do. I’d love for him to come with us, but we agreed to not do anything, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”  _ Dahyun declares with certainty.

 

“ _ Alright, just checking.” _ Jisung surrenders, but still looks longingly at the young man at the coffee table.

 

“ _ We won’t be mad if you want him to stay with you, though.” _ The pale woman offers, grabbing his hand for comfort.

 

“ _ What-” _

 

_ “We are fine with it. You two just have to talk to us.”  _ Jihyo cuts in, grabbing his other hand.

 

“ _ How?”  _ Is all he asks them, too stunned for anything else.

 

“ _ We know when Chris is interested in someone, and we know you as well. It’s clear that you both feel a romantic attraction to each other, and we are okay with it. No, we are not saying we aren’t going to get hurt through the process, but we will work it out.”  _ The smaller woman says, voice cracking a little.

 

“ _ Look, let’s make a deal. Hyun and I will go and you two stay here.”  _ Jihyo motions for him to not speak before continuing.  _ “Talk it out between the two of you, and we will take our time to talk as well. When we come back we can solve this puzzle together, how about it?” _

 

Dahyun has teary eyes, but nods in agreement, taking her girlfriend into her embrace but not forgetting to squeeze Jisung’s hand in assurance before letting go. He takes upon himself to deal with the dishes and ushers the girls to retire earlier for the evening, they take the offer gladly. Jihyo and Dahyun take a moment to gather themselves before saying a quick ‘good night’ before heading to their bedroom. Both women do their nightly routine mindlessly, before long, they find themselves on their, now too large, bed, hugging each other to sleep.

 

The next day offered great distraction, as the girlfriends spent their morning packing, went to class and would be leaving right after that. Jisung did stay, and Chris never managed to finish his work load on time, so he just sent the older girls some nice chocolate his mother had sent them from the last time she went to Switzerland (it arrived the week prior) and called to say he was sorry but couldn’t come. It was a better result then they expected, Jisung promised he would have everything talked out when they came back.

 

Nayeon picked them up, and they just prayed to the old gods and the new to arrive safely. Momo had promised to be the one to drive, but the dumbass twisted her ankle on the first dance club meet. Now, they were just admiring how a ten minute ride can feel like ten days when Im Nayeon is behind the wheel. So much so, that Dahyun is looking green and Jihyo is as pale as her girlfriend when the car is parked outside the Hirai-Im residence. Both rush to get out of the vehicle, the smaller one finds a street drain and pours all her stomach contents down it, Jihyo stumbles to the ground and remains there in fetal position.

 

“Oh, come on! You two can stop exaggerating, now!” Nayeon gets out of the car fuming.

 

“Yeonnie, honey, let the kids be.” Momo calls from their porch, where she had been waiting.

 

“No, they are clearly overreacting.” The eldest woman pouts like she is still twelve and asking for her lollipop back.

 

“For as much as I love you, Dahyun is throwing up what she ate on seventh grade, and Jihyo looks like she is having her third stroke already. That is, certainly, NOT overreacting.” The peach approaches, fairly easily, given the orthopedic boot around her foot.

 

“But you said it was okay for me to pick them up.” Im senior keeps throwing a tantrum, but lets her girlfriend hug her anyhow.

 

“And I thought it would be. Clearly, I make mistakes too.” Momo kisses her girlfriend’s pout. “Now, get their bags in and I’ll see what I can do with these two here.”

 

“Fine.” Nayeon grabs the backpacks and storms into the house.

 

Momo watches her go with a chuckle, but quickly goes back into worry mode as she tries to think about something to help the girls with. Sure, Nayeon got her license fair and square as soon as they got settled, but the girl was a weapon of mass destruction when put behind the wheel. When they were coming back from the E.R., the peach was unable to drive, so she made the, almost, fatal mistake of passing the keys to Im ‘Kami Kase’ Nayeon. She felt very sympathetic to the two younger ones trying to gather themselves on the ground, and was very thankful to Dahyun for not exploding on their sidewalk, but finding a street drain to do it.


	72. 72

It took almost an hour for Momo to bring the girls inside, and another before they were well enough to talk. Nayeon started off very pissed, but relented minutes after they arrived, seeing her kids were really in bad shape, she set a reminder on her phone to seek more driving classes monday morning. Don’t be mad at her, she was pumped up to take her little sister clubbing for the first time, and her driving was the end of those plans, sorta.

 

“Are you two well enough to lay down, now?” The eldest asks, handing the sick girls their second erving of tea.

 

“I think we should wait a bit more, before trying to sleep. Hyun got really sick.” Jihyo answers, hugging her girlfriend who just grunts in response.

 

“Alright. Don’t move too much.” Nayeon concedes, putting a blanket over them and going back to the chair she was sharing with her girlfriend.

 

“So, how are things with Chris? Last time I called he was running around aimlessly and not really doing anything.” Momo asks.

 

“We are fine, things might change soon, but we are fine right now.” Im junior answers.

 

“What do you mean, Ji? What happened?” Momo, that ever observant, beautiful bastard.

 

“Well, right now, I believe nothing happened yet. But Jisung and Chris should do some talking this weekend and things might not remain the same when we get back.” The second younger woman explains.

 

“He is not cheating on you under your own roof, is he? I’ll kill that aussie son of a bitch!” Momo rages.

 

“Mo, calm down.” Nayoen tries to control her woman.

 

“No, I know some pig farms that would be more than willing to have a few pigs fast for a couple days, they are just a phone call away.” The peach keep seething.

 

“Momo-unnie.” Dahyun croaks out, and that seems to have grabbed the peach’s attention. “He isn’t cheating on us, calm down. I don’t even think he wants to admit he likes Jisung yet.”

 

“Okay, we are gonna need some more.” Momo sits back down (when did she get up again?).

 

“Hyun, do you want to talk too, or should I explain everything?” The way Jihyo speaks feels so intimate that the older couple flushes a little.

 

“Please explain, I might get sick again if I keep talking.” They share a quick kiss, and the, now, yellowish girl snuggles back into her girlfriend.

 

“Alright.” Jihyo turns to the couple and chuckles at their pinkish faces. “The thing is, Chris might not discriminate based on gender, well, neither do we, but he does prefer men.” The couple looks surprised. “Don’t make those faces, it’s alright with us. Hyun prefers men as well, and I prefer women. I read that it’s something about our original soulmates.”

 

“Okay, I can’t really decide if I wanted to know that or not.” Nayeon remarks, Momo nods in agreement.

 

“It’s not like I have any sexcapades to tell you about anyways.” Younger Im shrugs. “But that’s not the point. The thing is, we have been witnessing Chris and Jisung fall for each other since they became roommates. Don’t go out on a killing spree yet, Chris found out not long ago, and is still denying it, he loves us both, yes, but what we see in his eyes whenever he looks at Jisung is something else.”

 

“So, you two came to terms with your boyfriend falling for someone else and told, said someone else, to make a move.” Momo tries to clarify.

 

“Yes and no. Yes, we told Jisung to force a conversation with Chris, because we know he won’t move on his own. No, we haven’t come to terms with it, not like you might be thinking. We see how much love Chris has for the both of us, but it’s something different when it comes to Sungsung. Those two share something deeper, and we understand that, Hyun and I are hurting about it, obviously, but we also talked between us two, and decided to not stand on their way.”

 

“That is actually very selfless of you both.” Nayeon offers, the two younger women deny it, though.

 

“Not at all, we just went through too much to let something like this ruin everything.” Dahyun speaks up. “Hyo and I have been talking for a few months already, we both know how bad things can turn out, and we decided that, when the time came, we would let Chris go. Not just for his own happiness, but for ours and Jisung’s as well.”

 

“It might sound ridiculous for you two, but the three of us went through a lot, and learned a lot from each other too. It might not look like it for you, but this is the best for everyone.” Jihyo asures. “I promise we will be fine, we always work it out, and this won’t be the time we don’t.”

 

“I’ll believe you and we will back off for now, but if there are any news of you two not coping well with it, I’m calling the pig farm and letting Nayeon pick both of them up by car.” Momo threatens but settles.

 

They go on to talk about everything and nothing, taking the time to call Mina, who was sulking because she would be ‘alone’ for a year before her girls could join her. They had already gone and found themselves a very nice studio apartment, most of Chaeyoung and Tzuyu’s things had already been moved, they were keeping the bare minimum at their houses, enough to get through their last school year. Talk about being eager…


	73. 73

Getting back home was something the girls dreaded and couldn’t wait for. Sure, the thought of ending their romantic relationship with Chris was disheartening, but it was something nobody could really control, and it was best to just face it. They all had a rocky road behind them, and, although it wouldn’t be smooth sailing from then on, the three had agreed to make everything they could to ensure safe passage. 

 

Jisung had messaged them that morning, saying the talk had happened, and they were both waiting for the girls to get back so they could work everything out and decide on what would be better for them all. Dahyun and Jihyo had the journey back to prepare their hearts, but what is unavoidable is unavoidable, so here they were, sitting on their living room, looking at their soon-to-be ex-boyfriend and the man he was about to break up with them for.

 

“ _ Alright, can we get the break up thing over with? I’m getting anxious and we all know how my anxiety attacks go. _ ” Dahyun blurts out, feeling said attack coming.

 

“ _ What? _ ” Comes in three different forms, from each of the other apartment dwellers.

 

“ _ Look, Hyo and I know you two have the hots for each other, and if you start dating, this is going to get out of hand fast, so, can we get through you telling us to break up already and start moving forward? _ ” The pale woman keeps babbling.

 

“ _ Hyun, please breathe. _ ” Jihyo tries to calm her girlfriend down. “ _ Put your head between your knees, there we go. Now count for me _ .”

 

Dahyun starts counting and calming down, this was something Jihyo found to work by accident, that time they went for the youngests’ graduation without Chris. The younger woman had a bit of a panic attack when they couldn’t find mr Chou, who was the one picking them up. Something about a big girl group arriving on the same flight. Jihyo felt a weird sensation of deja vu when she saw the women, a sense of familiarity that sent a wave of shivers through her when she saw them, especially a short one with short hair and big eyes.

 

“ _ Chris, this would be the time you get your shit together and speak up. _ ” Jihyo cues the young man, having calmed Dahyun down enough.

 

“ _ Alright, looks like it’s inevitable already. I wasn’t really planning on breaking up our relationship, but I admit it would be too complicated if I don’t.” _ Chris, for the first time, was breaking up. “ _ I want to break up. It’s not that I don’t love you two, because I do, very much-” _

 

_ “But you found someone who you love differently, and you want to be with him. We already told you, we are okay with it.”  _ Dahyun interrupts.

 

“ _ Are you all certain about this?”  _ Jisung asks, his voice breaking a little.

 

“ _ We are. This is something that has to happen, Hyun and I are going to be down for a while, but just give us some time to bounce back, but we will.”  _ Jihyo holds her girlfriend that much tighter.

 

“ _ Don’t.” _ The pale woman asks, before any of the boys can argue more.  _ “This is what it is, and we have to work things out from now on. You two don’t have to blame yourselves, or watch what you do around us, just give us some space whenever we show we need some.” _

 

_ “We promise everything will work out. Just be brave with us.” _ Jihyo ends the conversation, getting up and pulling Dahyun with her.

 

That night, the boys had some more talking to do, but Jihyo and Dahyun just wanted some time for themselves and fell asleep with a, somewhat, heavy heart. The next few weeks were filled with everyone (except Chris, who still didn’t get things done properly) falling back into their routine, the new couple wanting to do something to help the girls, but not knowing how do act, and Jihyo and Dahyun spending more time in their room.

 

Before the year was over, they were all back on track, and everything had fallen into place….. Except Chris’ habits (he is a mess, we get it. I’ll stop). And, soon enough, the young women were falling back into a nice and comfortable rhythm and it wasn’t that hard to see Chris and Jisung as a couple anymore.


	74. 74

“You sure you have everything you need?”

 

“I’m sure, Yeonnie.”

 

“Ji, I’m worried about you over here, cooperate!”

 

“My dear Nayeon unnie, I love you and I love that you are worried about this, but trust me a little and let me do this on my own.”

 

“I’ll let it go because you called me unnie. Message me when you can and I’ll call tomorrow for the details.”

 

“Will do. Love you.”

 

“Love you too.”

 

With a sigh, Jihyo ends the call, hoping her sister can come through and NOT call again before the next morning. She knows Nayeon will wake up on the wee hours and demand a fully detailed report on the events of the evening. This was supposed to be a night for them to remember, she had been hinting at it, and Dahyun didn’t seem opposed to the idea, so she was doing it.

 

“ _ Hyo, are you alright? Was Nayeonnie too much again?” _ The woman of the hour enters the room.

 

“ _ Oh, no, not at all. Hyun, how about we get ready and I take you out?” _

 

_ “Trying to woo me, ms Im?” _

 

_ “If I’m lucky. But seriously, I have a reservation for us, and, if I know you, we are already late.” _

 

_ “When is the reservation for?” _

 

_ “Eight.” _

 

It was five, and Jihyo made herself disappear before her girlfriend noticed it. Obviously, a ‘Im Jihyo, you asswhole’ screamed from the top of her lungs followed, responded by loud laughter from the perpetrator and a door slamming shut. The taller girl had taken shelter on the guys’ room, climbed into their closet and hiding behind some boxes, making sure Dahyun’s rage would dissipate by the time she was found….. And she could hang out on her hiding spot until it was time for her to go get ready.

 

_ “IM JIHYO, YOU ARE GOING TO COME OUT OF THAT CLOSET RIGHT NOW.” _ Dahyun seethes from right outside said closet.

 

“ _ I did! Years ago, when I found out my soulmates were girls! Two of them. How do you not know I’ve been out for so long?!”  _ Jihyo tries to lighten the mood.  _ “And we’ve been together for, what, four years now?!” _

 

_ “You go to our room and wait for me.”  _ The smaller woman commands and her girlfriend giggles away.

 

Dahyun just rolls her eyes at the couple laughing shamelessly on their bed (Jisung had bought a double bed for them when the girls got better) and leaves to handle her problematic child, read Jihyo. The older woman had been giddy all week, and acting weird for a few weeks, sure, Jihyo was always an odd ball, but it had been out of the ordinary even for her. Therefore, our resident mochi (they are fluffier than tofu, sue me) was slightly concerned.

 

“ _ Are you going to be a good girl and tell me what you are up to?” _ The younger asks as soon as she enters their bedroom.

 

“ _ What do you mean? I’m taking my girl to dinner and, if I do everything right, I might get lucky tonight.”  _ Jihyo uses deflect.

 

“ _ I thought you were past your naughty phase.” _

 

_ “Oh, not even close. You are very well aware about why my showers have been getting longer.” _

 

_ “OKAY! I’m showering, and you choose something for me to wear, since you aren’t telling me anything.” _

 

_ “Yes ma’am.” _

 

So, Dahyun proceeds to take her shower and Jihyo pics out a nice blue dress for her woman, and prepares a black pantsuit for herself. They get ready by seven and decide to leave already. Some drooling might have happened when the other apartment occupants saw Jihyo, but nobody trusted themselves enough to say anything and not embarrass themselves through it. 

 

Jihyo had insisted on driving, and was taking no arguments against her meticulous planning for the evening. They went to Dahyun’s favorite restaurant, it was pricey, and they went there for her birthday, which took Jihyo two months worth of pay to afford, but she was pulling all the stops, even if that meant she had to ask her parents for some more cash, and now they were worse than Nayeon about all this.

 

Dinner went too smooth for Dahyun not to be suspicious, and then they were walking by the river, there was a night event happening on Bonnycastle Park, some jazz bands were showcasing, and they were quite pleasing to listen to. That’s when Jihyo got nervous, her hands started getting clammy by the minute, her throat was drying  up and she started hoping her girlfriend wouldn’t notice. Didn’t work.

 

“You know I’m going to say yes, right?” Dahyun says when she stops to watch the band.

 

“What? How? What?” Jihyo gets more nervous.

 

“You are trying to propose tonight, and my answer is going to be yes, so, no need to be nervous. Just go on with your plan.” She has a smug smile, but her eyes are dripping honey.

 

“Oh.” The older pauses. “Should we head to the place I intended to do it at?”

 

“Please, I want to be an engaged woman already.” The younger one laughs.

 

They head to another part of the park, where there were less people, the lights were dimmer and the music had become background noise. Jihyo stands in front of the river, behind her, a theme boat for the festival was anchored, everything started looking like a hazy dream for Dahyun, the mood was perfect, the music was perfect, the weather was collaborating, and Jihyo was mesmerizing.

 

When the proposal happened, Dahyun was in a daze, and could barely register much of what was happening, she knew Jihyo was giving her the most beautiful love declaration she had ever received so far, but all she could think of was ‘this is the woman I’m going to marry’ and she could just smile and give a faint nod when she came to, and saw Jihyo looking at her, hopeful, with the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.


	75. 75

The, now, engaged couple decided to hang around and listen to some more music, but Jihyo still had more plans, and they needed to move soon, and Dahyun had been spaced out since the proposal happened, so it was easier to proceed with the plans without much resistance. When she came to, the pale woman noticed she was already sitting in the car, heading somewhere that wasn’t their place, with her fiancé humming happily and tapping the wheel to the beat of whatever was playing on the radio.

 

“What are we doing at The Forks?” 

 

“We are staying at The Inn tonight, and I’m taking you to Danny’s tomorrow. I know you love to have breakfast there.”

 

“What? I love that inn!” Dahyun beams. “It’s so nice and quiet, and the river is right next to it, and it’s so nice!”

 

“I know you like there, love.” Jihyo chuckles. “I wanted to be free with you tonight. It IS a special night for us, and I wanted to do something nice for you.”

 

“Im Jihyo, you are the most special part of my life, and anytime I’m with you is more than nice enough.” 

 

“Thank you, hun, but I think we needed tonight to ourselves.”

 

“Are you propositioning me?” Dahyun caught up to what her fiancé was trying to hint at.

 

“Maybe.” Jihyo shrugs.

 

“I’m sorry to say, but I am engaged.” Both women laugh.

 

“Oh, she must be a very lucky lady.”

 

“I’m the lucky one. Well, if everything works out tonight, I mean.”

 

“How so?”

 

“I don’t know, but a lap dance would be nice.”

 

“I’ll see what I can do.” Jihyo says before getting out of the car to open the door for Dahyun.

 

They check-in fine, ad Dahyun is surprised about the small bag Jihyo had produced, apparently, their pajamas and clothes for the next morning. Their night went really well, and Dahyun was very thankful that they were at a hotel, having their first time with the boys in the other room wouldn’t have been very ideal, there was also the fact that one of sad boys was their ex. As soon as they entered their room, Jihyo put up the ‘Don’t disturb’ sign and unplugged the landline, then proceeded to turn off their phones and open the champagne bottle she had ordered beforehand.

 

The next morning, the entire floor knew Jihyo’s name, and the receptionist looked like she was about to murder someone when they checked out. Rumor has it, the other guests were calling all night long, demanding something to be done about the exorcism being performed on their floor, and, having disconnected their landline, the front desk couldn’t have contacted them, the manager had tried going to their room, but gave up on any plans of stopping the couple when the elevator opened at their floor.

 

Breakfast was another treat on itself, Dahyun loved breakfast, it was her comfort food. Jihyo would always take her out for breakfast whenever she was feeling down, and Danny’s was the place for them, a restaurant that served their go-to meal 24/7. It was close enough to the inn to go on foot, and it was always nice to walk by the river in the morning….. Not that Dahyun could manage much walking on that specific morning, but she went along anyways.

 

On their way back home, the couple was content, very happy to have taken this new step on their relationship. Dahyun did think of something that hadn’t occurred to her until then. They were already engaged, but she wanted to know, the only way to do that was asking.

 

“Hyo?” She gets a hum as an answer. “I just thought about this, but, why did you pick yesterday?”

 

“You don’t really remember, do you?”

 

“Remember what, exactly?”

 

“Yesterday was the day we met. Remember the time Chae went to the hospital and we tried to talk through our video-calls?”

 

“Wait, are you serious? Yesterday was the day? Jihyo, you are a very hard woman to not fall in love with.” Dahyun exclaimed and started kissing her fiancé’s hand (Jihyo was still driving, so she had to wait for the next red light to kiss her properly).

 

“I do try my best. And you make it worth the effort.” The older woman answers shyly.

 

“Okay, I’m really counting on Sungsung and Chris not ditching their saturdate, and having already left when we get back home.”

 

“I’m sure they will keep their schedule. It’s the only time Chris is allowed to not be studying, there is no way he is missing that chance.” Jihyo answers in a chuckle.

 

“Good, because our neighbours are about to learn my name AND how to spell it. You are the best wife I could have ever asked for.”

 

“We aren’t married yet, though?”

 

“We are going to the courthouse on monday, don’t worry.”

 

“As much as I’d love to, I still want our anniversaries to mean things, and there is a date I would like our wedding to happen on.”

 

“Okay. But you are making it harder and harder to not just elope.”

 

“Glad to know. But work on that self control, because I intend to make it harder and harder.” Dahyun just groans at that.


	76. 76

Summer vacation, freedom for some, torture for others, dreadful for Jihyo and Dahyun. They were going to Korea to spend a week and a half there, and it was not the most excited they had been about it. Sure, everyone knew they got engaged, and their parents were ecstatic, their sisters had very different reactions, though. Nayeon was (still) milking it for everything it had, and Jihyo was adamant on not spilling any of the details, whilst Tzuyu had been very happy, but not, at all, interested in any of the gossip, she just heard what her sister told and was happy with it.

 

The problem was, they were going back with all their friends for this vacation, and they knew all of the girls had been holding out on pressuring them to spill everything in order to do that in person. That, and Jeongyeon and Sana had become part of their friend group, and were joining them on Jeju for a few days during their vacation, and Jihyo was so not enthusiastic about that. She didn’t hate them and whatnot, but she didn’t want her best friends throwing dirty jokes about her engagement with her soulmates around.

 

Although, all these worries were for another time, right now, she had two weeks worth of schoolwork to get up to date and a few more extra hours at her jobs to work through, she wasn’t exactly free for the time they were to spend back home, and she couldn’t just up and go without preparations…… Okay, she could afford to not get paid for those days, her parents would gladly send her money if she asked them, but they already helped her with the engagement, paying for the dinner and hotel, she didn’t want to burden them that much. And the school work, well, that had to be done anyways, and if all nighters were needed, that’s what she was going to do.

 

“ _ You are not trying to kill yourself, are you? _ ” Chris asks when he gets back from the market, finding Jihyo drowning on books and papers.

 

“ _ Not at all, I’m just, you know, getting my work done?”  _ She bites back, not really thinking much about it.

 

“ _ Ouch! But seriously, when did you sleep last?” _ He feigns offence, but can’t help but being worried.

 

“ _ I don’t remember. And not so important right now. I’m almost done with this music history dissertation anyways.” _

 

_ “We have a dissertation for music history?” _ Chris is honestly concerned.

 

“ _ I’m very much worried about you, are you sure you can pull this off and graduate at some point?” _ Jihyo stops a little and sends a worried look.

 

“ _ Look, I’m going to pull through, right now we are worrying about you.” _

 

_ “And I’m very thankful for that. But I have to finish this before we go, and there is no other way around it but actually doing it.”  _ She smiles warmly. “ _ Don’t fret too much, I’ll survive.” _

 

_ “I’ll try not to. Just promise me you will get to relax when you go home with Hyun.”  _ He pleads. “ _ She is trying to be strong and not show it, but we all know she is worried about you too.” _

 

_ “I know, and I love her for it. Don’t worry, we’ll rest.” _

 

_ “Good. Now, excuse me while I go to my room and have a mental breakdown because I just found out about a dissertation I didn’t know existed.” _

 

_ “Have fun.”  _ Jihyo chuckles as the young man goes into his room.

 

She does hear some desperate screaming and a few books being dropped, a muted bang and a pained screech. Deciding to tune out, Jihyo proceeds with her work, it was the last of her papers and she intended to have a nice sleep before they depart the following evening. Dahyun gets home a few hours later, carrying takeout and the older woman couldn’t be more thankful, she forgot about her body needs and felt how empty her stomach had been when it started complaining with the smell of the thai food on those bags.

 

The next day is spent with Jihyo sleeping most of the morning away, Dahyun having sneaked out to have breakfast and got back to bed right away to sleep a bit more. They spend the afternoon finishing packing and leave for the airport around five, they were meeting Nayeon and Momo in Vancouver, so they could fly together to Seoul, which was promising to be a long flight, as they hadn’t met since the engagement, and Jihyo had managed to dodge the subject so far. That meant Nayeon was on a bloodhunt for each and every detail of what happened, and one can’t really run away inside a plane.

 

Landing back home, Jihyo and Dahyun had lost their souls, Momo was embarrassed for everyone involved or not, but tried to help the younger couple where she could, and Nayeon was ecstatic with everything she got out of her little girls. Sure, she had been worried about the break up, but she was very happy to know that they got over it and even gotten engaged after that. Jihyo was her baby, to love and care and squeeze, and would always be, no matter what anyone else said.

 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Momo asks her girlfriend, who was spacing out while they were waiting for their luggage.

 

“I was just thinking about our baby girl.”

 

“Yeonnie, I love you, and you know I love Jihyo as well, but she is a grown woman. We shouldn’t keep calling her our baby girl. What will our children think?”

 

“First, she will never not be my baby to love and care and squeeze. Second, our children are still in the distant future, and will have to learn how to cope with me babying their aunt for as long as I live.”

 

“I give up with you.” Momo huffs in defeat. “Look, the bags are coming!”

 

They make quick work of their luggage, hauling their bags into the trolleys and pushing past another crowd. The eldest couldn’t help herself and asked one of the security guards what had brought so many people to the airport, it was a girl group that was supposed to be arriving anytime now. Some photographers started taking their pictures, but looked stunned when they realised the group were not the girls they were waiting for, which got them intrigued but none dwelled on it for long, papa Im had found them and rushed everyone to the car, he was stressed with so many people at the airport.

 

Dinner was to be at the Im household, so papa Im dropped Momo and Dahyun off first, so they could greet and spend some time with their families before everyone gathered that evening. That, and it wasn’t even lunch time yet, they could get some relaxing time as well, and he knew his girls fully intended on sleeping as soon as they could. Mr Im explained that Mina, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were arriving on a later flight, and mrs Myoui would pick them up, something about Tzuyu having gotten into an early internship project and having to push their flight to the last minute possible.

 

All in all, they had a good lunch, mama Im made sure to cook her girls’ favorites, Jihyo told them about the engagement (she kept the details to herself this time around), Nayeon was questioned about when she was planning on proposing to Momo, who, in turn, said she had something up her sleeve, but they should get to Jeju first. The kids excused themselves and headed to their own rooms, Nayeon knew Jihyo had been pushing it for the last few weeks, Dahyun made sure to keep Momo and her up to date, and was glad that her baby sister was taking some time off.


	77. 77

The vacation days went by beautifully, read, Jihyo and Dahyun slept to their hearts’ content, and now, here they were, in Jeju, forced into swimsuits and out of the house to get that vitamin d. Jeongyeon and Sana were to arrive around lunch, not much longer until then, and were staying for four days, they got close enough to be invited to the ‘vacation at the Sons’ the group tried to do as often as possible. It had been a couple vacations since Jihyo and Dahyun had been able to join, and it was nice to have everyone together again.

 

The engaged couple had been questioned by the girls the very night they arrived, Mina had declared a sleepover and was taking no objections, and they all wanted to know anyways, might as well let the penguin loose on her curiosity. At some point, Nayeon and Momo disappeared for a while, Im junior and Chou senior decided to just go swim a little, they were already at the beach anyways, the older couple came back with another two in tow.

 

“You two alright there?” Nayeon asked, seeing her companions stopped.

 

“Yeah, it’s just-” Jeongyeon chokes a little.

 

“It’s the first time we see it.” Sana completes the thought.

 

“See what?” Momo questions, trying to understand what the two are looking at.

 

“Jihyo’s flowers.” The younger japanese explains, not averting her eyes. “It’s the first time we see them. They are beautiful.”

 

Now they understand what the new arrivals are referring to, Jihyo was standing near the ocean, looking at Dahyun playing in the waves and doing a great job at almost drowning, with grumpy Chaeyoung saving her everytime and scolding the older one to stop her nonsense. She was wearing an incredibly flattering two-piece bikini, her back in full view, the purple and yellow ever-so-vibrant, two beautiful flowers taking half her back shown proudly.

 

It was almost instant, as soon as Jeongyeon and Sana saw it, they started crying, it wasn’t a break down, but the tears didn’t stop flowing and they just stood there, trying to gather themselves and admiring the girl that got away. Sure, Jihyo had told them about getting engaged, and they were way past the ‘you are ours and should be with us’ phase, and the four, five back then, had worked out their relationship, but seeing those flowers for the first time, the ones that bloomed for them but were never appreciated, brought up a sadness they couldn’t explain.

 

“We’ll give you two some time to pull yourselves together.” Nayeon says affectionately. “Just join us when you feel ready.”

 

“She’s happy, you know.” Momo mentions, looking at Jihyo and Dahyun, who were now side-hugging and watching the ocean. “It’s okay to feel what you are feeling, but know she really is happy.”

 

The older couple goes back to the group, and Sana motions for them to go on, this wasn’t the time for crying, and that wasn’t the attitude they wanted to show. They were there to celebrate their soulmate’s engagement, knowing it wouldn’t be with them, and they were very happy for her, but the pull of their soulmate would still be there, forever, and it brought up conflicting emotions. They should talk about it later, now wasn’t the time.

 

“It’s alright to feel whatever you two are feeling right now, you know?”

 

The couple jumps a little, Dahyun had come up beside them and none had noticed. The pale woman had a warm look in her eyes, and her words brought some security to the older couple. Jihyo was sitting on the sand, still looking at the ocean, and Dahyun seemed to have slipped away towards the newcomers.

 

“Hey Dahyun, congratulations on the engagement.” Jeongyeon is the one to greet first this time.

 

“Hey Dubs. Congrats.” Sana speaks up. “It’s just-”

 

“The first time you see her flowers, Yeonnie told me.” She interrupts. “It’s alright, you know. The pull of your soulmate is something that never really goes away.”

 

“Sorry. We couldn’t really control ourselves.” 

 

“It’s alright, Sana-unnie. I understand, and it’s not our thing to be jealous like that.” There is a lighthearted chuckle, not a drop of malice in her words. “I’m just here because Jihyo asked me to come and talk to you. She saw you two crying and got worried, but felt it wasn’t a good idea for her to come herself.”

 

“She had always been nice like that.” Jeongyeon ponders. “It hit us a bit harder than expected, that’s all.” 

 

“Talk to her later.” Dahyun simply answers, before walking back to her fiancé.

 

The rest of the day goes as well as it could, dinner was supposed to be an outdoor barbecue, and everyone spread out to do their own thing after, Jihyo and Dahyun decided to let Jeongyeon and Sana walk out first, and follow later. They should talk, and avoidance has never been the younger woman’s forte, and Dahyun was not planning on starting now.

 

“Hey , you two.” Jihyo greets as they approach her soulmates. “I think it’s time we talked, no?”

 

“Looks like it is now.” Sana laughs. “We just got a bit overwhelmed earlier. First time seeing your flowers and all. They are beautiful, by the way.”

 

“It’s alright, you know.” Jihyo asures them, snuggling into Dahyun’s arms. “The soulmate bond is never really severed, and I think I just had some stroke of luck, having seen your flowers as they bloomed.”

 

“We really regret it, you know.” Jeongyeon croaks out. “Not having seen you back then.”

 

“Don’t hold onto it. Regret doesn’t do anything but hold you back.” Dahyun offers. “I regretted not really getting into a relationship with Vernon back then, and, had it not been for Hyo and Chris, I would still be living with my what ifs. Never really moving forward, and never letting myself become anything but the girl who lost her soulmate too soon.”

 

Jihyo just beams, proud of her fiancé for, finally, opening up about her past like this. It meant Dahyun was comfortable enough to talk about it now, that she stopped allowing her doubts to keep her rooted in a past that never was.

 

“We really are happy for you two.” Sana speaks up this time, pulling Jeongyeon closer. “It’s great that you two have each other, and you said it yourself, we wouldn’t be anything today if you had said something to us back then. This, right here, wouldn’t be happening right now if Jeong and I had known when we met.

 

“It’s alright to feel everything you two are feeling.” Jihyo asures them. “We are soulmates, our bond can only be broken one way.” Dahyun kisses her cheek. “Let’s just keep moving, our what ifs won’t bring anyone happiness, we will always have each other, and I promise I love you two, I just love Dahyun in a different and voluntary way.”

 

“We understand that now, but it did take a while to accept it.” Jeongyeon sighs.

 

“It’s alright.” Dahyun soothes the other couple. “Your relationship might not be what you imagined it, but your connection can never be broken.”

 

There are simple hums in agreement, and the four spend some time watching the shoreline bathed in the moonlight. It doesn’t last long, the girls call them over to start their dance party. The parents had already moved inside, claiming they were ‘too old to keep dancing the night away with the youngsters’, as papa Chou had put it. It’s nice, and Jihyo thinks everything turned out infinitely better than what the frail little girl had imagined all those years before.

 

“MYOUI MINA, STOP TRYING TO GET MY FIANCÉ ON TOP OF THAT TABLE THIS INSTANT!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


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